Xiaolin Showdown: Reunion
by Dr. Bauhaus
Summary: It's been three years since Jack Spicer left the Heylin side and abandoned his dream of world domination. Now his past comes back to haunt him as a mysterious evil force is unleashed at the Xiaolin Temple. [Showdown Exclusive]
1. CH1: A Visit From The Past,  PT1

**CHAPTER ONE: A VISIT FROM THE PAST**  
**- [_PART 1_] -****  
**

Xiaolin Showdown fic, v2.  
Have a fun read.

* * *

Three years back he'd been fighting a losing battle with supernatural forces. Who'd have thought he'd end up here of all places?

It was a big school. A nice school. A scholarly school that held an exalted undergraduate program with pre-law intent, made for the most brilliant of minds, if not for the financially abundant or socially superior. It was the Rockwell Institute, and when you graduated there, well, you graduated life.

Because of his family's vast wealth and his own genius mind, as well as a few unofficially pulled strings, Jack Spicer - world's greatest ex-evil boy genius - had been accepted into the prestigious education system, which would in turn greatly help him achieve his ultimate goal in life... to become a lawyer!

Okay fine, so it was more his parents' dream for him to toss his lot into the bowels of law school... But even so, it was in this new, clean school program that Jack thought he'd finally found a new life. A normal life. A better life. A life that actually made sense and had direction and meaning, far from his nowhere-bound life of the past. It was here that he would study hard, attain high-standing grades, and perhaps even participate in institutional activities and make every-day, lifelong friends.

Overall, it was a perfect new start for him, and despite some of the flaws he was happy there.

**x x x**

Accounting was just one subject of the vast extreme that law school covered, Jack now finding himself stuck working on a group financial-economic project with a few other students.

Yeah. Group projects weren't really his thing.

"Wow, Jack, you're so smart!" One of the students in his group praised, leaning closer to him in all her enthusiasm.

"I am?" Jack blinked. He stiffened. "I mean. Yeah, I am. Totally."

"To think that the lack of market transparency within the financial statements was the problem!" The girl continued, eyes shifting fervently over a numerically-overridden paper. "That would mislead both private and public sector companies in regards to their investments!" The excited young law student looked up from the paper and to Jack with eager eyes. "How did you come up with that answer?"

The student in question gave an odd look to the girl who'd praised him, then a lofty shrug. "Oh, uhh... lucky guess?" Was all he offered, recoiling slightly from such sudden strange, positive attention. Man these guys got exited over stupid stuff. It really wasn't that big of a deal.

Unlike the traditional student, Jack had amassed a healthy amount of life experience in his youth. He'd learned so much on his own in the far reaches of rural China, if not in the secluded basement of his parents' house that was otherwise known as his 'evil secret lair'. Numerous scientific and mathematical equations revolving around building and maintaining complex mechanical robots with intricate, sentient contrivances, managing often unreliable associates in off-handed partnerships, keeping up with his own financial stability when it came to straight-up business, and of course making personal investments based on his own economic judgement, not to mention political assessments based around the whole 'world domination' thing...

When he got down to thinking about it, he never really realized how ahead of everyone he was. Or how inferior they were to him. In fact, he almost even felt bad for knowing too much.

Almost.

"Yeah right. We all know you're the smartest guy in our class." Another student in their group admired with a hint of jealously.

"Come on," Yet another student pleaded. "Tell us your secret!"

And with the rest of the surrounding group of students now ganging up on him, Jack could only give a skeptical eye to the lot of them, just a little creeped out by all of this unfamiliar, pleasant attention. "Uh. Secret... Riiiight."

It seemed the growing popularity of the infamous now 'teen genius' wouldn't be subsiding any time soon. In fact, admiration for him hadn't stopped since the first day he'd transferred there two short months ago, classes spread far in time and abundant in volume. Though, he'd be flat out lying if he said he didn't like said attention, creepy or not, this being the only real time he'd ever been sincerely complimented on anything before.

"Weeeell..." Jack droned on, wondering if he should actually give them advice or not. But with a few more praises and pleas for his 'secret', Jack finally gave into a wide grin. Okay, so maybe it wouldn't hurt to try and teach these guys a thing or two. He WAS only the smartest guy in the whole school, after all, if not the entire world!

**x x x**

On the roof of another building just outside of the second-floor classroom window, two shadowy figures - one tall with long, black hair, the other a small floating figure - watched as a newly-reformed Jack Spicer seemed to be explaining something complicated to a few other students...

From what the two observers of sorts could tell, Jack had changed quite a bit. He still had his pale-white skin, wild and eccentric bright red hair, and red eyes to match. However, the trademark black hook under his eye had vanished, as had his equally characteristic swirly-eyed goggles. His naturally wild hair was smoothed back in a clean, sophisticated fashion as his widow's peak took foreground. He was a bit taller now too, and instead of the typical 'evil boy genius' outfit that he was always notorious for wearing, he now wore a nice-fitting black and silver school uniform. A very polished appearance, to sum it up.

But it wasn't the boy's appearance alone that struck the now teenage Jack as having changed; it was also the way he seemed to carry his proud-standing self and interact with other human beings within his own level of standing. As if he actually... _fit in_.

Was that even possible?

"Hmm..." Came a scratchy woman's voice from the small, floating figure. "He seems to be functioning normally in this environment. How... _peculiar_."

"How he's _functioning_ is completely irrelevant." A different sly, almost cynical voice said in reply, having come from the taller figure with long, flowing black hair. "We need him to join us. Think you can do that?"

"Don't insult me!" The other spouted spitefully. "I know him better than anyone! Of course I can!"

"Then get to it. We have little time to waste here. I'd like to leave this pathetic human cesspool as soon as possible."

And with that, the oh-so-contemptuous one had vanished, leaving the small, floating figure alone in thought.

"Yes... All in good time..." It hissed to itself with a wicked smile, looking back to the unsuspecting teen in the near distance before receding back into the shadows with a low, unscrupulous chuckle.

* * *

Oh, Jack. You only thought your life could be normal.


	2. CH1: A Visit From The Past, PT2

**CHAPTER ONE: A VISIT FROM THE PAST**  
**- [_PART 2_] -  
**

I'm glad you guys like.  
Also glad you're not pissed about the re-do!

* * *

Jack had left the highly-acclaimed financial accounting class with a wide grin. He'd just been accepted to this stupid institute a few months ago and already these kids were swooning over him and his genius mind like an eternally lost harem of latest-pop-idol fangirls.

"It's about time people started recognizing my awesomeness." He said to himself as he exchanged good-sized school books in and out of his assigned locker, the whole row of them along the hallway perfect and sparkling as if immature teenagers with vandalizing tendencies and 'mean girl' complexes didn't even exist in the world. It was just another reminder of how sickly clean this school really was. But eh, like he could actually complain at this point.

As he exchanged his rather thick accounting textbook for an even thicker macroeconomics book, Jack couldn't help but find himself distracted by his own decor on the inside of the locker door. A few pictures hung there; pictures of the good old days back in China, as well as a few magazine clippings of certain things that actually came of interest to him - rare mechanical parts, famous engineers, and the like. Yeah. Real gritty stuff, Jack.

It reminded him of his own dream. Or, what was left of his dream. Even from an early age he wanted to be an engineer. A mechanical engineer, to be exact. Someone who could work with mechanics - robotics - and build amazing things. He'd use his genius mind and insane mechanical skills to do something big in the world. Something no one else could ever do! Something that would leave a mark on the world and seal his name in history so that he'd be known and respected and envied until the end of time itself! He'd always wanted that more than anything else!

But life just had that way of saying screw you and your silly, idealistic dreams.

His fascination with mechanics and robotics had always been against his parents' wishes for him, despite how much talent he had in the field. The whole 'world domination' spill never really went very far with them either, so it wasn't that surprising. But you had to admit, it wasn't always easy to take someone like Jack seriously to begin with. He wasn't exactly one to fit in within the 'normal realm'.

In fact, ever since he'd left the Xiaolin Showdown world as a villain working for the side of evil, if not for his own ill-inspired notions, it seemed like it was just one mishap after the other. About three years had gone by since he'd officially abandoned that insane life, and each day since had seemed to bring a new problem to the table. Not that it'd ever really worked for him before, sure, but it seemed it was actually possible for things to go downhill more so than they already had. He didn't exactly fit in with 'normal life' and it was a hard transition to say the very least. In the end, it left him in a pretty tight spot.

Luckily his father pulled enough strings to bail him out of trouble and land him in a sweet deal with a certain institute. Thus, with no other options left, he'd accepted defeat. Having given in after a good two plus years of fighting it, Jack had finally subsided to his parents' wishes and joined the one and only program in the country, probably the world, that could prepare him for what his parents had in mind for him instead: law school.

And that was why this school was so important. Despite being duller than a butter knife most of the time and not exactly his cup of tea, the Rockwell Institute symbolized a new beginning for him, and he wasn't about to screw up his last chance of doing something meaningful with what was left of his life. Though, to be honest, it wasn't exactly what he'd been looking for or expecting.

He let out a sigh, breaking his gaze from the collage of pictures that clung to his locker door back to the inside of the locker itself... only, what waited for him there was anything but a collection of textbooks and notepads.

"JACK!"

Jack instantly recoiled and gave into a signature high-pitched yelp - something far removed from his present, peaceful life.

The oh-so-familiar voice had been shrill, easily piercing his ears into his brain to give him a serious headache, though the most horrifying sense had to be with visibility, such a voice connected to none other than a floating, disembodied head, it just floating there in his freaking locker.

"Wuya?!" Jack cried out perhaps a bit too obviously as he looked upon what could only be known as an evil Heylin witch. Other students who were in the hallway had all silenced themselves and stopped to stare at him, naturally, his loud outburst providing unwanted attention. Evidently he'd have to be more discrete, despite his rather strange and unwarranted predicament. He thus leaned into a harsh whisper. "What are you doing here?!"

"Aww, aren't you happy to see me?" The floating, purple head replied with a wry smile, uncaring of any external attention. "It's been _years_."

"No... no, not really!" Jack almost instantly replied with elevated pitch, though sure to do so with a lowered tone, student body attention finally starting to wane. He wasn't even surprised that Wuya had, once again, been confined to her bodiless form, and only raised a curious brow as suspicious interest peaked. "...What's that look for?"

Wuya floated there, examining the now clean-cut Jack Spicer, wearing that nice-fitting uniform, hair gelled back suavely, make-up completely removed... with the most disgusted look upon her face. He looked absolutely miserable. "You look ridiculous." She badgered with little restriction. "What happened to you?"

Jack forced away an persistent blush. "Nothing _happened_! This is how I dress now!" Wow. Defending his life choices to Wuya. How'd he get here again? Forcing his frame of thought back to actual relevance, he couldn't help but let out a groaning whine, an almost wincing look coming over him as his eyes drifted elsewhere from the locker. "Ughh... _why are you here_?" His exasperated tone droned. "Did you track me down to like... try and partner up again or something?" Made sense enough with her being a bodiless spirit again anyway. "'Cause I'm preeetty sure we've been over this before and-"

"No!" Was the sharply-cut reply, Jack now just standing there, blinking dumbly. "I came here on behalf of something far greater than a mere _partnership_ with you of all useless human puppets."

"Okay, whoa, no." Jack was quick to halt. "Already sensing some crazy here, and that's totally cool, but I'm just gonna go ahead and put this in the 'don't wanna know, don't care' category."

"You haven't even heard what it is I've come for!"

"Don't have to." Came and went Jack's turn for a sharp reply. "Not that you'd know, but I've got a good thing going here - a pretty sweet set-up, actually - and I'm not gonna screw it up by getting involved with whatever it is you're, uh... _wanting_."

That seemed to spark Wuya's interest anyway, her seeming to be more curious than aggravated. Luckily she could be patient when it mattered, if not utterly shrewd. A sinister smile was quick to return. "My, you're very defensive about your new life, aren't you?" She teased, giving a quizzical, if not amused tilt of her head. "You must be liking it very well."

Jack narrowed his eyes, resentment sure to take foreground. "Yeah. I am. No thanks to _you_."

"Oh, come now, Jack." Wuya swayed, continuing her spirited charade of consideration. "I'm practically your second mother with everything I've done for you!"

And with that Jack couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Pfft. You mean everything you've done _to_ me." He starkly corrected before shutting the locker door - evil witch still inside - and turning around, ready to head to his next class.

Still in the game, Wuya floated through the closed locker door after her assumed target. "Alright, fine, so we've had our differences in the past," She quickly changed tactics, evidently desperate for his ear. "We've always settled them before! Let's make amends and—"

It was then that a breathtakingly beautiful girl approached them, silencing the witch.

The approaching girl had long, curly blond hair, blue sparkling eyes, flawless creamy skin, and a smile that could melt you to the core. Not to mention she looked pretty darn good in the girls' school uniform, her black and silver skirt swishing side to side as she skipped down the hallway.

"Hi, Jack!" The girl chirped as she bounced up to the so-called teen genius with that melting smile of hers.

Jack was quick to react, jumping in front of Wuya before the girl could see the strange floating entity otherwise known as an evil Heylin witch. "Oh, h-hey Cindy!" He managed to stammer out.

Ah, Cindy. The most beautiful and popular girl in the school. She'd come to him the first day he transferred there and showed him around the place. Not only was she beautiful, but nice too. Had a heart of gold. And she seemed rather interested in Jack, which Jack himself was hardly used to.

"I don't have much homework today." Cindy said with an innocent smile. "Want to grab a milkshake with me after class?"

Jack rubbed the back of his head with light embarrassment. Pretty, popular, and nice. He could hardly function. "Um... uh, sure. Y-yeah! I mean- ...that sounds good!"

Cindy let out a giggle. "Okay, see you then!" She said before skipping down the hallway to her next class, whatever the heck that was. Judging from the 'Legal Management' book under her arm, it probably had something to do with civic law.

Jack didn't fail to notice that other students were heading to their classes as well, the hallway emptying quickly. Class would be starting soon.

Cindy now gone, Wuya floated her ghostly way through Jack's torso, leaving Jack to cringe as a violent shiver ran down his spine. Man, he _hated_ it when she did that!

"...Who's she?" The witch questioned with interest, eying the bubbly girl as she disappeared down the hallway.

Recovered, Jack only shook off the incredibly creepy vibe. "No one." Was his listless answer, straightening himself back out.

"Is she your girlfriend?"

Jack just about tripped over himself. "What? No! She's just... some girl from my class! We sometimes study together."

But Wuya seemed to all but acknowledge his explanation. "I never thought I'd see the day Jack Spicer actually found himself a girlfriend..."

Jack let out a loud groan. "What are you, deaf? I told you she's not my girlfriend!"

Wuya turned to face him abruptly. "Jack! You must return to the Heylin side!"

Oh, wow.

"Wha- How can you change the subject that quickly?!"

"A powerful entity has been unleashed at the Xiaolin Temple!" Her fervent tone continued without falter. "You must join us to fight against it!"

And Jack could only stare in all of his paused perplexity, again left to stand there dumbly. But really, when he thought about it and despite Wuya's sudden and totally disquieting hastiness, it wasn't very surprising to him that something crazy and ridiculous had happened back in the crazy and ridiculous world of Xiaolin Showdown-ism.

"Right..." Was his single, uncaring response, arms folding across his chest with ever-present suspicion. "And since when do you need _my_ help?"

For real. Him? Join _Team Heylin_ again? To _fight_? No freaking way.

"Aww, don't be like that, Jack!" Wuya swayingly cajoled. "You can be very helpful... at times... when you don't completely screw the plan up before it even beings..."

"Heeey, I see what you did there." Jack accused with insult-taken pursed lips and a pointed finger. He was still far from relenting in argument. "Can't you just like, get someone else to help you? Some other crazy Heylin jerks or something?"

"We already have! And now it's time for YOU to join our cause as well!"

Jack couldn't help but be intrigued by that. It was like the more the old hag talked, the weirder this 'problem' of hers seemed. "Hold up..." He forced himself to clarify. "So you're telling me you actually rounded up _all_ of the Heylin jerks to help you with this... Xiaolin Temple problem or whatever?"

"Yes! ...You're the last on the list."

Pshh. Figures.

"Well_ that's_ flattering." Jack deflated before giving another skeptical look. "And why do you need _me _again exactly? 'Cause if it's to build you guys super-evil robotic weapons of mass destruction or whatever, I'm officially resigned from that thriving career path - you know, just so you know."

"Oh, please." Wuya spat with rolled eyes. "As if you would ever stop tinkering with your useless robotic contraptions... and that's NOT what we want from you!"

And Jack couldn't help but feel let down. "Well, what do you want then? An attorney to sue this... 'entity' thing? 'Cause uh, that's pretty much all I've got right now."

"Pah. I want _nothing_ from you." Wuya scoffed. "It's _Chase_ that wants you."

The sudden namedrop hit a strange tone with him, an odd and wondering look coming over Jack.

Chase. As in Chase Young. As in THE Chase Young. The sparkling immortal warrior who he had idolized like no other, him even having gained his own personally-coined title of 'worm' under him. Unlike with Wuya, it'd been the full duration of three years since he'd seen or heard from the guy. And now Chase _wanted_ him for something? But no. He wasn't going to fanboy. Not him. Not now.

"-says that you can help us in a way no one else can." Wuya's unenthused self finished, Jack having apparently missed some part of her idle chatter whilst having drifted off in his own, distanced little world.

"And uhm, what way would that be?" Jack had to wonder, trying not to seem too terribly interested.

A long pause ensued in answer. Wuya turned away with a snobbish air. "...That's a secret."

Jack deflated, obvious reason being obvious. "He didn't tell you..."

"Imprudent boy! Chase tells me everything!" The witch spat before alternatively giving a contended smile. "We have a very open relationship."

Jack gave a good roll of the eyes. "Pshh, yeah, I remember." He said before pausing for a moment in thought. You know, to make a decision. Yeah, an actual decision. Not a very hard decision, but a decision nonetheless. "Look, all things considered, it's not my problem." He explained to a critically analyzing Wuya. "I have a new life now. A _real_ life. Which is, I gotta say, a _lot _better than my old one. So I'm just gonna, you know, get back to that now." And with that, he strode passed Wuya and started off down the empty hallway towards his next class.

The freshly-abandoned Wuya just floated there for a moment in awe before said abandonment finally sank in, certain line hitting a course string. "That's impossible!" She shouted after the departing teen. "What could you possibly gain from this insufferable, listless life!"

"Oh, I don't know-" A sarcastic, indifferent Jack flung back perhaps a bit too blasé as he continued down the hallway, not even bothering to stop or turn around. "Being normal!"

Wuya's jaw dropped and eyes grew large in hearing such a horrid thing. "_Normal_?!" She spouted in disbelief. "_That's_ what you want? To be _normal?!_"

Jack finally stopped, standing there a moment before finally turning to face the ghostly apparition from his distance. "Yeah!" He shouted back, determined to hold ground in his decision and new place in life. "What's wrong with that?"

"BWAHAHAHA!" Wuya squawked, doubling over in a fit of hysterical laughter, forcing a chastened blush to Jack's face. "_You? __Jack Spicer? -_ _NORMAL_?" The laughter didn't cease.

"Hey, come on! I'm being serious here!" Jack was sure to argue through quickly-growing embarrassment, voice echoing through the empty hallway. "I've changed!"

"Pah! Oh please!" Wuya snapped back, ghostly hands on her nonexistent hips, laughing fit now over as irritation took place. "And what about world domination and total destruction and being the most infamous villain ever?"

With that, Jack paused for a small, still moment. "That was the old me. This is the new me." He explained rather matter-of-factly, newly calmed. Any more of an explanation would be wasted breath at this point. "So, if you'll _excuse me_, I have a macroeconomics class to be late for." Finished, Jack turned back around and vanished down the stairwell that led to the first floor of the building, thick textbook in hand.

"Grrrr... Infuriating _child_._" _Wuya muttered to herself bitterly as she watched Jack disappear down the staircase. Irritation seeped from her being. "This could very well be harder than I thought." Her ghostly gaze turned upward to the ceiling, irritation suddenly replaced by a small sense of foreboding unease. "...Chase isn't going to like this."

* * *

Convincing Jack to join: Round 1... FAIL  
Oh, how will Jack be convinced to join now?


	3. CH1: A Visit From The Past, PT3

**CHAPTER ONE: A VISIT FROM THE PAST**  
**- [_PART 3_] -**

The feedbacks inspire me like you have no idea!  
Convincing Jack to join: round 2.

* * *

Later that day, in the prestigious school's boy's bathroom - yes, even the freaking bathrooms were sparkling perfect - Jack took some time to relieve himself in one of the many bathroom urinals as he reflected on the day's unexpected, strange, and just plain stupid happening.

Only a few hours had passed since his fantastic encounter with Wuya. After years of not having anything to do with his old life in the least, she'd undoubtedly brought back so many memories and feelings that he'd honestly thought he'd never have to see or deal with again. Given, it wasn't Wuya's first attempt to recruit Jack to her cause of needing someone stupid enough to work with her when she was a useless spirit, the first year after he'd left having been sprinkled with spotted visits from her before she finally gave up and left him to his own - which he figured was because she'd somehow regained a mortal body again and no longer needed him. Had to say though, this was the first time he'd heard this crazy of a story. Not that he was interested or anything. No way. Not even a little. He was totally content with his new life - a life that was different and clean and safe and... boring... and...

Man, why'd she have to show up anyway? Waaay too many unfortunate things had happened since he'd finally left the life of being some wannabe evil Heylin villain. Here he was finally enjoying his new and wonderful life after he'd dealt with all that stupid stuff, and then _she_ had to come and ruin it!

Help them? Please. What a joke. They didn't really need his help anyway... with whatever it was they were dealing with on the other side of the world.

Still. He wondered if Wuya had really left. He was serious enough when he'd told her off, but something irked his curiosity even so. Maybe it was just a temporary childhood relapse or something. He shook his head and tried to forget about it. Who cared. Hopefully Wuya would take what he'd said seriously and just leave. Yeah. That's probably what she'd do. She was in her ghost form anyway. Couldn't do anything herself. So what could she possibly do to him?

He smiled with such a realization. Or maybe it was the 'release' he was smiling from. Either way, it was short-lived.

"Spicer." Came a sharp, terrifyingly familiar voice from behind him, which again made Jack belt out one of his trademark girlish screams. Hey, two in one day. The voice was familiar alright, but it certainly wasn't Wuya's...

Jack was quick to shield his exposed lower half. In the same instant, he turned his head around to witness a truly spine-chilling sight. "Chase Young?!"

Surprised wasn't even close to what Jack was. More like utterly horrified, and completely caught off guard. Wow, big evil really knew when to pick a time to strike, didn't he? Jack was quick to pull his pants back up.

Just like Wuya, Chase hadn't changed even a bit, his hair still long and wild, his eyes reptilian, his armor flawless. Even that unamused, halfway to pissed-off look on his face now brought Jack right back to the past. Man... the guy really _was_ an evil, immortal warrior. Like, who else but a truly sinister evil-doer would creep up on you in the freaking bathroom?

The sleek-looking Chase simply stood there with folded arms and an irritated frown, fully suited in his black and greenish-gold spiked armor as he looked upon the reformed, ordinary student of law before him with the same disgusted look Wuya had offered earlier. As if he needed to voice his thoughts.

Jack holding his pants up and Chase holding ground with folded arms, the two only stared at one another for a small moment in the blue-tiled boy's bathroom, seeming to silently sum each other up to some degree, before he finally reacted to his second strange visit for the day.

"Uhm... hi?" Jack offered, still holding his unzipped pants in all of his awkward standing.

Chase held his unmoving, unspoken ground. His reptilian eyes narrowed.

"Sooo," Jack coughed, returning his attention to proper cause and zipping his pants back up. "I didn't think you were _actually_ here. I mean, Wuya said you were wanting me and everything but wow, I just kindda dismissed it and thought you were still chilling in China at your evil lair or whatever and-"

"Silence, worm."

The worm silenced.

"Now listen up. I'm going to tell you this, and I'm only going to tell you once." Chase's piercing voice stated, not skipping a single beat." There's been a development at the Xiaolin Temple in China. Pathetic as you are, we require your assistance in the matter. There's going to be a Heylin meeting at my lair tomorrow regarding the situation at hand." His voice seeped bitter intent, and if Jack caught it right, a good bit of straight-up reluctance. "Your attendance is expected."

Well, it was certainly a mouthful anyway, leaving Jack silent for a moment, frozen with absorbing such words like an old, dried up sponge. But as it all sank in, despite Chase being all great and mighty and able to crush him where he stood at a moment's notice, he wasn't near ready to give up on his own happiness just yet. It was time to assert to his oppressor and idol that he was older, matured, and ready to live his life apart from the world of supernatural craziness.

Jack didn't turn around to face Chase, instead finishing fastening his uniform's belt. "Yeaaah, well. As flattering as it is that you need me so _badly_," The teen replied rather mockingly for addressing someone who could easily rip out your spine and shove it down your throat. "Thing is, I kinda have a new life now. With new friends and plans and all that. You know, a _normal_ life."

Chase only scoffed at the bold statement. "Your new-found confidence, though curious, is exceptionally nauseating." No sooner was a whooshing sound heard, Jack now feeling Chase right behind him, much closer than he considered comfortable considering his own situational vulnerability, hands now fumbling with the belt-loop as Chase firmly placed both of his own hands on the tiled wall, one on each side of Jack, preventing any hope of escape. "It wasn't a request." The man informed with a hiss. "Understand?"

"Y-yeah! Absolutely! I understand completely!" Jack quickly sputtered out, ready to agree to just about anything Chase wanted at that particular point in time, his cowardice from the past coming back to him as if his confidence were never there.

A satisfied smirk could be found on Chase's expression now, him very much liking that answer. Oh, how intimidation always put him in a good mood. "Good." He finished. "Don't be late."

In the same instant, Chase had all but vanished, leaving Jack to give into a quivering sigh of relief, his entire body still raddling with anxious tension. He didn't even want to _think_ how badly that could have gone. He hastily finished fastening his belt and with heavy groan, couldn't help but monologue to himself in the comfort of the empty boy's bathroom.

"Oh man... what have I gotten myself into?" Jack lamented as he slowly pulled himself together, even his once slicked-back hair in defiance now.

Even after three years the memory of Chase Young hadn't faded in the slightest. The guy was so terrifyingly powerful... and evil. The immortal warrior could destroy his new life in an instant if he wanted to.

As ridiculously vague as the information provided was, it seemed that there was really no choice in the matter. He'd just have to go to this... council or whatever back in China and face all of his past cohorts.

Oh, how _that_ was going to be something to look forward to...

**CHAPTER ONE: A VISIT FROM THE PAST - END  
**

* * *

Well. That's it for chapter 1.  
Convincing Jack to join: Round 2... SUCCESS  
Next chapter: the evil council of doom!


	4. CH2: The Heylin Council, PT1

**CHAPTER TWO: THE HEYLIN COUNCIL**  
**- [****_PART 1_****] -**

It lives!

* * *

With his remaining classes completed for the day, after school hours had commenced as Jack now found himself at the local food court with Cindy, the pair drinking milkshakes together and enjoying each others company as they sat at a small round table outside, shaded from the early Autumn sun by a red and white umbrella hovering over their table.

They'd actually gone out for milkshakes together a few times before. In fact, it'd almost become a regular outing, the two classmates frequently talking with and getting to know each other as of late. Study buddies, as it were.

Jack could honestly say he was surprised by how much Cindy was interested in him, always seeming to want to know more and more about him in constantly asking questions about himself and his life. But of course he wouldn't allow himself to tell her everything. As he'd found through his own troublesome personal experiences in life, some things were best just left under the rug and forgotten in the past.

"So, you're going to visit your aunt and uncle in China?" Cindy questioned, taking a delicate sip of her strawberry milkshake, curly blond hair settling on her shoulders, clothes an assortment of bright, lively colors.

Jack took a good, unhindered sip of his own chocolate milkshake, having almost immediately changed out of the prestigious school uniform and into his typical rebel garb after class. "Yeah. They, uh... need my help with something." He idly lied, which to an extent wasn't too much of a lie at all.

The whole bathroom fiasco earlier was still fresh in his mind, of course, resentment blaring. Despite forcing confidence upon himself, when actually faced with the almighty presence of Chase Young and shamelessly threatened, he pretty much caved. He promised himself that next time would be different. Even if he was forced to go to this stupid council or whatever, he was going to be sure to stand ground in his new place in life.

"Well, I think it's great that you're helping your family out." Cindy perked up with a smile. "It really shows what a good guy you are."

Jack couldn't help but let out a small snort at that. "Good guy? _Me_? No way." He easily dismissed. He probably would have even been flattered if it weren't for the fact that one, being called a good guy was super lame, and two, what he'd told her was pretty much entirely based on a lie, his entire background wrapped in mysterious falsities.

"Well, you're certainly not a _bad_ guy." Cindy pointed out with that same, gentile smile. "I can tell."

At this point Jack wasn't sure whether to feel insulted or flattered. He decided the latter on the account that Cindy knew virtually nothing about his amazingly ridiculous background. "Uhh, sure. I guess you could say that I'm neutral." Was how he dealt with that, now reclining lazily in his chair and taking another deep, sloppy sip of his milkshake.

Cindy gave a small giggle, his chosen word of 'neutral' a bit out of context for the so-called 'normal world'. "Well, I'm sure your aunt and uncle will be glad to have your help." She said. Her happy smile then turned to a sad frown. "I wish you didn't have to leave though... It'll be pretty lonely here without you."

Jack blinked. "It will?" Was his initial, reflexive response. Well _that_ was unexpected. He was actually going to be _missed_? He was quick to recover, eyes closing and hand running through his red hair. "I mean... yeah, totally. But it won't be that long." He waywardly reassured. "I mean, it'll just be a couple of days."

"You promise?"

Jack was silent again, eyes opening to fall back on Cindy. "Promise?"

"That you'll come back as soon as possible." Cindy clarified.

Really? He had to promise her that he'd come back soon? This was getting kinda weird again... But this girl was gorgeous and popular and kind and actually interested in him and- "Yeah, you got it. Promise."

"Good~" Cindy clasped her hands together happily. "You'll tell me all about your trip when you return, won't you? I'd love to hear more about your family."

Jack gave the chipper girl an odd look, but quickly brushed it from his expression. "Oh. Sure." He agreed. "Not that there'll be much to tell. They're a pretty dull bunch." Yet another lie.

"And maybe you could call me too?"

Jack blinked. "Call you?"

The girl handed him a pink piece of paper with a sequence of beautifully-written numbers on it, her name flawlessly written at the top. "I know it'll be long-distance since you're going to China and everything, but I'd still like to keep in touch, you know?"

Jack somewhat shakily took the piece of paper, as if he touched it it'd crumble up in a ball of flame and disappear forever. How surreal. This was the first number he'd ever gotten from a girl. _Ever_. And he didn't even have to ask for it!

"You _will_ call, won't you?" Cindy asked with a dire, almost worried look.

"Call you. A girl. Right!" Jack answered, still holding on to the piece of paper. "Totally. I'll call you first chance I get."

Cindy seemed pleased anyway. "Good! I'll look forward to it!"

**x x x**

The next day; that evening at Chase Young's evil lair of darkness and doom...

A long and highly elegant wooden table sat in a dark, dimly-lit room with several shadowy figures surrounding it in its vast length, former rivals and enemies having come together under one banner for a communal purpose. All was silent for a good while, the tense, hate-bound aura seeping out from around the entire room. A beautifully uncanny sight.

"So then..." One of the shadowy figures finally stated with a proper southern gentleman's twang. "I assume there's a _reason_ we've been so formally assembled here today?"

"You know why you've been summoned here!" Barked back a scratchy woman's voice from the other side of the table.

"Then would you _kindly_ get to it already? I have other, vastly more _productive_ things I could be doing right now."

"I agree." Came another voice, deeper in tone, from a rather thick shadowy figure with two strange bulges on its head, almost seeming like fuzzy bear ears. "I too have certain matters to tend to."

"_Well_, we wouldn't want to disrupt big-shot here's honest line of work, now would we?" Came the sarcastic response from yet another female voice, posing from a rather shapely shadowy figure with cat-like ears on its head. "Jeez, so impatient."

"Hai. Patience is a virtue." Agreed an Asian-accented voice, coming from a rather round figure. "I'm sure Chase-san will enlighten us very soon."

But the southern-accented figure wasn't so pleased. "He hasn't even said anything!" It protested. "Hey, pretty-boy! You gonna tell us why we're here or what!"

The head of the long conference table didn't move in the slightest, the dark room overcasting many shadows to form a broad silhouette, wild hair surrounding it.

"No." It said plainly with that familiar cool yet sharp, piercing voice. "We've yet to fill our final position."

The other shadowy figures all glanced to the single, unmanned seat at the long table, and then curiously around at each other.

"Just who is it you're speaking of?" The thick figure with bear ears questioned. "From what I can see, we are all here."

The head of the table didn't answer, only silence emitting with closed eyes as if going into deep meditation.

"Is he even going to come?" The scratchy voice wondered with mild irritation, small shadow now coming to hover beside the broad, wild-haired silhouette.

"Oh, he'll come." The sly voice reassured with the utmost confidence.

"And just _whom_ might you be speakin' of?" The southern-accented figure questioned impatiently. "Just spit it out already!"

"Dahhh... Cyclops know who missing!"

Everyone turned to face the largest shadowy figure of the table of whom towered over all else. Silence filled the room once again in waiting for more input on the statement... which sadly never came.

"WHO?!" Practically everyone blurted out at once in not getting anything more form the hulking figure.

Said figure looked up dumbly. "Dahh... forgot."

"WHAT!" The southern-accented figure shouted, waving a shadowy tentacle in the dark. "Why I ought'a-!"

"This is absurd." The fuzzy-eared figure grumbled. "A complete waste of time." It stood up from its seat, apparently ready to take leave.

"Oh no... you mustn't go! "The Asian-accented being warned, quickly standing in protest.

"And why not?" The other challenged.

"Hah! I'm with the over-sized panda." The southern-accented figure stated, hopping up on the table from its seat. "This here assembly is utterly useless!"

"Talk about impatience." The shapely female figure cooed once more. "Like you weirdos actually have anything better to do."

"What was that?" The southerner dared.

"I just happen to have a multi-million dollar industry to uphold." The bear-eared figure argued. "I can guarantee it takes a lot more diligence than any lowly _cat-burglar _could possibly comprehend."

"Diligence is a virtue, after all." The highly obese figure commented, going back to its list of virtues.

"And what's diligence when it comes to beauty and skill?" The feminine figure countered. "I am the epitome of purrrrfection."

"Oh please!" The southern gentleman swayed. "You couldn't find your way out of a paper bag!"

The sound of sharp claws unsheathing themselves sliced the bitter air with an accompanying cat's hiss. "Wanna try me, bean-brain?"

"Chase, do something!" The small floating figure panicked, witnessing the unruly scene quickly escalate. "They're going to ruin everything!"

The broad-shouldered, wild-haired figure kept his position of folded arms and closed eyes at the head of the table, ignoring the floating apparition's cries along with the four loudly bickering evil-doers.

"Dahhh, Cyclops want to join fun!"

"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS," All four arguers shouted in unison.

The giant proceeded to cry. Loudly.

Another yet-to-be mentioned, and very much silent figure patted the large beast-like figure on the back in condolences, wearing some sort of foreign-looking hat on its head, while another newer-voiced figure, short yet muscularly broad in size, spoke up while the other four members of the table were still bickering with one another.

"Oi! You make Vlad friend cry!" The broad figure accused. "Take mean words back!"

But the four heated villains were too busy arguing with one another to even take notice.

"This is a disaster..." The floating figure commented helplessly as it watched a crying cyclops, scolding Russian, virtue-spitting ninja, consoling mime, assertive cat-burglar, irritated mob boss, and incredulous bean argue with each other across the vast length of the long, hate-inspired table. A ghostly hand came up to its face. "We're doomed."

It was then, and only then, that the two large doors to the incredibly dark conference room burst open, letting in so much light that you could barely see who it was standing smugly in the middle of it.

The room fell silent, all eyes on the new arrival, of whom had no problem at all making his way in the room.

"Man, do you guys have any idea how many strings I had to pull to get out of class?" He immediately complained, only to stop half-way in to take in the suffocating silence, awkward stares, and equally sour atmosphere. "...You even got the mime, huh?"

Jack had arrived.

* * *

Next installment of chapter 2 on it's way.  
Updates are long. Forgive me! Life has been a real pain lately.  
Will you let me borrow yours?


	5. CH2: The Heylin Council, PT2

**CHAPTER TWO: THE HEYLIN COUNCIL**  
**- [_PART 2_] -****  
**

PSA: Don't meth with meth.**  
**

* * *

As Jack would bear witness, the large, dark room was filled with disbelieving, curious, and suspicious Heylin villains surrounding a single, long conference table. The light trickling in from the newly opened doorway behind him illuminated the place ever-so-slightly, though enough to finally bring to light who was who...

On the far left and nearest to the door sat Le Mime, of whom Jack had less than fond memories of. The notorious mime still had pointed, black hair with a white-painted face, though now to accompany the white face-paint and red-painted cheeks were black, four-cornered star markings surrounding his eyes under his pointed eyebrows, and a small dash of black lipstick lightly covering his lower lip. His outfit had changed as well, consisting of simple black and white striped shirt, the sleeves cut off at the elbows, exposing his bare arms, hands covered by white gloves. The black and white striped shirt was tucked into red pants, the same color of his cheeks, which were supported by a pair of black suspenders crossing over his shoulders, pants reaching down to shiny, black shoes. To complete the outfit, a black beret hat covered his head, replacing the smaller hat he used to wear years ago. Surprizingly, Le Mime actually seemed happy to be there, unlike the rest of the gathered baddies. Perhaps he simply had no friends... of which Jack could completely understand why.

Beside Le Mime sat Vlad, the overbearing Russian brute. His round, gap-toothed, thick-eyebrow'd, blue-eyed face was shaped by his choppy blonde hair, cut in a straight bob-cut fashion. His clearly disproportioned build of a massive upper body and tiny lower body was covered by a simple, linen Tolstovka shirt, a small, brown belt of cloth fastening it around his tiny waist, massive chest expanding above the belt and beyond realistic value. Dark blue pants covered what tiny legs he had, tucked into a pair of black boots. On top of his head sat a black Kartuz hat with the recognizable hammer and sickle symbol of his homeland displayed upon it.

Farther down on the left, beside Vlad, sat Hannibal Roy Bean, one of the most sinister and dangerous forces of evil in the entire world. He sat enlarged to about the size of a mini-fridge thanks to the Moby Morpher Shen Gong Wu, which sat hooked to both of his root-like arms, typical smug, crooked-toothed smile plastered on his face, yellow eyes absorbing the newest addition to the room with interest.

On the far left, farthest from the grand entrance doors sat Tubbimura, the morbidly obese though surprisingly agile ninja. His maroon-colored, barely-fitting outfit of which his fat rolls would constantly protrude through in the past was now replaced by a full-covering shinobi shozoko ninja uniform, black in color. Everything on his body was covered aside from his face, a small slit revealing slightly slanted eyes. Even the tops of his hands were covered by typical uniform fashion, feet covered by standard ninja tabi. Not one, but two swords clung to his backside in a crisscross fashion. Though it hard to believe, the now fully suited Tubbimura had actually found a way to enlarge himself even more in three years time, having grown even more massive in size. It was, after all, a strength more-so than a hindrance.

On the opposite side of the table - back to the closest end to the door - sat the overbearing, red cyclops... Cyclops. The creature still had its red skin, one green eye, and teeth spread every-which direction, black tattoos covering his body, bright orange hair pulled back in a simple pony tail, and covered in golden accessories such as arm bands and earrings, a simple black loincloth being his only real clothing. It was safe to say that the clumsy ogre hadn't changed in appearance in the slightest, but perhaps that was due to him being a mystical, ageless being. Aside from appearances, it seemed he'd learned to speak the human tongue... somewhat... as painful as that was.

Beside Cyclops sat the mischievous villainess, Katnappe, more sultry in nature now than ever before with her own maturation over the years. Her nice-fitting, shiny black suit having been abandoned in three years' time, Katnappe now found herself with a different form of attire entirely, though not too far removed from original design. A black, strapless leather bra secured her newly matured chest, tastefully covering her ribcage though shamelessly exposing her stomach, a tiny leather jacket overtop to cover her shoulders, though about the same size as the bra itself in length. Long leather gloves of the same dark color covered her hands and forearms, a sharp-ended cat-like claw sticking out from each finger of the form-fitting gloves. Short leather shorts covered her bottom half, tail protruding from her rear, such a short bottom article revealing her legs up until her knee-high, black heeled platform boots took over. Instead of her hooded suit of the past, with this new costume the young woman was hoodless, only a black cat-ear headband sitting on her head, her blond hair now completely revealed to the world, styled with a short, layered razor-cut to accentuate her wild and free personality. As a finishing touch, three black whisker marks were drawn on each side of her face, a soft, pink lipstick brushing over her lips.

Last but not least sat PandaBubba, the fearsome and highly powerful underground mob-boss who, in so many ways, somewhat resembled a panda. True to his name and self-identity, the politically powerful man still wore his hair up in that double-ball fashion to aid the appearance of panda bear ears, nails long and razor sharp, dark circles still surrounding his eyes, and nose still blackened to pull off that oh-so-familiar look. He wore an extremely formal white and black suit, obviously highly expensive and obviously to again honor his own animalistic identity. Expensive accessories and jewelry littered the man, rings covering his fingers, earrings stapled to his ear, and formal pins attached to his equally formal suit. In so many years, perhaps PandaBubba had seen the better end of the underground world.

All in all, this truly was an evil Heylin council...

_"...You even got the mime, huh?"_

Le Mime waved back happily.

As Jack had made his _marvelous _entrance into the overly nostalgic room, the one placed at the head of the table's eyes finally shot open, irritation and annoyance seeping from them. "You're late." A sharp voice accused from across the room.

At the head of the table, the farthest from the doorway in which Jack now stood, sat none other than Chase Young himself, still perfect in every way an immortal warrior could possibly be. But it wasn't like Jack hadn't already been re-introduced to _him_, the memories of yesterday far from removed.

"Yeah, well, the bus to China was delayed." Jack answered with a dramatic shrug, lousy excuse in toe. "I came, didn't I? It's not like I have free time like I used to. I have a _real life_ now."

"So you've said before." Chase easily brushed such fruitless information aside, knowing that Jack's late arrival could very well be nothing more than a typical rebellious jab - something of which Chase himself had little time or regard for. "Just take a seat, worm. We have much to discuss."

"Over here, doofus."

Jack looked over to see the ever-so-developed Katnappe pat the empty seat beside her, mischievous smile plastered on her face. "Only seat left."

Jack rolled his eyes as a dull sigh escaped him. "Should have known _you'd_ be here." He made his way over to the empty seat between Katnappe and PandaBubba and plopped down in it, eyes darting over to his former rivaling adversary with a teasing snort. "Nice suit, _Ashley_."

"Bite me, _robo-freak_."

Honestly, the two fiery teens had never really gotten along. Not since their parents first introduced them, and not when Ashley presented her alter-ego, _Katnappe,_ to Jack and Wuya for the first time years ago.

"Stay focused!" Wuya scolded the bickering pair in suddenly presenting herself, floating above both their heads. "This is serious Heylin business!"

"Yeah-yeah, I'm all about serious business." Katnappe batted her away. "Totally focused."

Jack eyed Wuya with certain curious disdain. "Yeah and hey, I _still_ don't know why I'm here by the way. It'd be reeeaally cool if someone could tell me what's going on here."

Hannibal looked to Chase with a raised brow, the strange yet somewhat tantalizing notion finally having sank in. "You sent for the evilly-challenged robot-boy?"

Piercing yellow eyes shot over to the enlarged bean-sized villain. "Spicer's... 'assistance' will prove useful to us." Was Chase's well-composed answer. "There is in fact a purpose behind his being here."

"Hey, come on, don't talk about me!" Jack whined. "I'm right here!"

"Jack Spicer being useful..." Tubbimura was then the one to voice. "...this is most unexpected."

"Indeed. Hearing of how the boy can actually help us will be... quite interesting." PandaBubba agreed, eying Jack skeptically.

Jack sank back in his seat. "...I feel so judged."

"In time." Chase calmed the table. "First, there are other matters we must discuss. _Some_ of us have yet to be informed in regards to our untimely situation."

Jack looked around the table. "Huh? Who?"

Katnappe gave him a hard elbow to the rib. "He means you, _Jack_."

"Ow! ...Oh."

"Spicer," Chase spoke, forcing Jack's attention once more. "What do you know of the state of the Xiaolin Temple?"

"...Uh?" Was Jack's insightful response, a whole lot of nothing coming to memory in regards to 'the state of the Xiaolin Temple'. "How should I know anything? All I was told was that 'a powerful entity has been unleashed at the Xiaolin temple'." He was sure to quote Wuya's rendition with mocking tone. "And how desperately you need my - Jack Spicer's - help, of course."

Silence engulfed the table.

"...It's worse than I thought." PandaBubba remarked dryly.

"You've been gone for an extensive period of time and have much to learn in regards to our current condition." Chase stated, eying Jack. "I suggest you listen closely to what I'm about to tell you, Spicer." A good, threatening glance swept across the table. "That goes for all of you."

All eyes were on Chase Young. It seemed it was time to get down to business...

"Seeing as how we have little time to waste, I'll make this quick." Chase stated rather firmly as he now stood from his seat, eying the other Heylin villains who remained seated around the long, rectangular table.

"Half a year after you left, Spicer, a... 'mysterious entity' emerged at the Xiaolin Temple." Chase continued with underlying bitterness seeping from his words. "The entity overrunning the Temple and threatening to destroy the world, a great and inevitable battle ensued between it and the Xiaolin monks. Leading the monks in retaliation, Xiaolin Master Fung was the first to take charge and strike back against it... and was the first to fall."

Not a single smile, sound, or twitch was found across the once loud and boisterous table. Just scowls, silence, and indifference.

Jack took a moment to eye the table curiously until he was satisfied that their reactions were justifiable to what he'd just heard. 'Fell' as in the first to back out of battle, right? The crazy guy was old and weird and all that so...

"Fung was indeed successful in sealing the entity back in the realm from which it came," Chase continued. "...But at the cost of his own life."

Yup. That pretty much cleared everything up for him.

"Whoa-whoa, hold up." Jack immediately interrupted as he stood up, gaining everyone's attention. "So the old guy's gone for good? He's..."

"Dead." Hannibal finished for him. "Boy, you've missed more than you bargained for."

"But what about those Xiaolin losers!" Jack challenged. "Weren't they there to fight this... crazy entity-thingy?"

Chase gave the teen a good, long look before letting out an irritated sigh. Even he knew he owed Jack some sort of deeper explanation, even if they didn't have much time to spare on the smaller details.

"The battle was long and fierce." The immortal man expanded. "Even I had to give the monks credit for holding out for as long as they did. With the Xiaolin Dragons on their side, they were able to keep a twenty-four hour stride. It was almost even assumed that they'd won... until the entity expanded beyond measure and power, and threatened to engulf all of them completely."

The table listened deeply to the recited tale.

"Though the Xiaolin Dragons fought with all their might against it," Chase continued. "The entity was simply too powerful and easily overwhelmed all four of them. That was when their Xiaolin Master struck with the Xiaolin Monks' highly acclaimed last-resort tactic: the _Jien Yi Yong Wei_, thereby sacrificing his own life in order to seal the entity back in the realm it somehow broke out of."

It was certainly a lot to take in, but a legit explanation if nothing else.

Jack fell back in his chair. "...Man. That's dark."

"Dark indeed." Chase warned with a threatening scowl. "Fung's death was only the beginning of what would become the greatest threat ever known to our world."

"End of the world, right..." Jack said somewhat aloofly for the foreboding statement. "And the, ah... four of those losers?"

"Worried about them after all?" Katnappe teased with a playful tone, going to pinch his cheek. "Aww, how _sweet_ of you."

Jack batted her hand away. "I-it's not like that! I just wanna know the rest of the story!"

"Oh, I'm _suuuure_~" Katnappe persisted with her purring drawl.

Chase calmed himself with a groan from the two rivals' irritating interactions, ultimately deciding to indulge the questioning 'boy genius' in effort to bring closure to the subject.

"The aftermath for the Xiaolin Dragons' post-battle was unanticipated enough, if not simply shameful." Chase informed sharply. "Devastated that their master was now gone and disheartened by their own failings in battle... the four Elemental Dragons soon disbanded not long after the entity was sealed."

"Disbanded?" Jack questioned, breaking away from Katnappe's teasing remarks. He looked down in thought. "So they're gone now too, huh?"

Chase didn't move, seeming to more study Jack's reaction than anything. "That's right."

"Well, all of them except for the short, bald one." Wuya chimed in, musing in her own thoughts. She rolled her eyes lethargically. "The oh-so-special 'chosen one'."

Chase shot the ghostly witch a threatening glare from the unwanted mention of such things.

"Ah... not that that's important or anything!" She was quick to throw out, receiving the rather harsh hint.

It certainly wasn't enough to NOT perk Jack's interest. "Wait, so cheddarhead's still here?"

"We'll get to that", Chase was quick cut the topic off. "We have yet more vital things to discuss."

"Agreed." An irritated PandaBubba stated. "It would be most _appreciated_ if we could proceed to more pressing matters at hand."

"Yes, please," Hannibal chimed in as well with a sarcastic twang, throwing a wicked smile Chase's direction. "Continue with your _delightful_ seminar of what we all already so very well know."

"Maybe he would if you infuriating hooligans would stop interrupting every five seconds!" Wuya spouted, floating above the table.

"Or maybe pretty-hair man would," Vlad now braved. "If talky-talk Jack would stop ask so many question!"

Jack threw his hands up in the air. "Oh, so this is my fault now!"

"It's always your fault." Katnappe replied coolly beside him as she filed her nails.

It was then that the entire table began to unravel amongst themselves in personal disputing debate.

Chase rubbed his temples amongst the loud chaos, letting out an irritated grumble. Keeping these senseless imbeciles in line long enough to have a civil meeting was next to impossible. Luckily, Chase commanded enough authority with his own power to easily resume control.

A flat hand was risen in the air above his head, only to come crashing down on the elongated table with a loud karate-chopping thud, forming a deep crack as it quickly split down the entire length of said table to the other end in a single motion. The now silent members of the council looked down the length of such a crack, following its dramatic journey before landing upon the head of the table and one responsible for such a display.

"Now then," Chase began, resuming his role as head of council. Hands behind his back, he began to idly pace the room. "After the events that took place at the Xiaolin Temple two and a half years ago, things eventually settled. All was well for a good period of time, and everything began to slowly resume back to regular course."

"With the Xiaolin monks devastated in the task of having to rebuild the Temple as well as losing both their renowned Xiaolin Master and prided Elemental Dragons," Chase continued, now stopping in place. "They were no longer much of a threat to the Heylin side. The Shen Gong Wu were easily taken."

With that, many proud grins spread across the table.

"Now THAT was a time to remember." PandaBubba commented.

Cyclopse clapped his hands and cheered - loudly - shaking the entire room. "Daaah, lots of wu!" He sang happily.

"Pah. Not that the Shen Gong Wu ever interested you, _mister high and mighty_." Hannibal snorted under his breath to Chase.

"Yes." Chase agreed, giving a snide smirk his adversary's way. "Because some of us do not require such glorified trinkets to ascertain _true_ power."

"Speak for yourself!" Wuya snapped before gushing in dreamy girlish fantasy. "Ahhh, what a brilliant stash of Wu I assembled during that time..."

"You mean back when you had a _body_?" Katnappe teased.

"Why you!"

"Yeah, about that..." Jack waved a hand through the bodiless apparition that was Wuya. "What DID happen to your body? I mean, what is this, the _tenth_ time you've lost it?"

Wuya grumbled, mindlessly slapping his hand away in futile effort. "That's none of your concern!"

"On the contrary," PandaBubba suddenly interjected. His attention fell on Chase. "Was it not this 'entity' that reduced Wuya to such a... useless form?"

Wuya's eyes shifted around suspiciously before setting upon Chase, others around the table doing the same.

Chase closed his eyes, his masterfully-woven, linear tale having seemingly becoming a sort of abstruse pile of stratified material. Perhaps he could correct that fine detail. "As I said: all was well for a good, long time." He began once more. "The Xiaolin monks were rebuilding the Temple and the Heylin side was at its peak of power... until just three months ago."

"Alien invasion?" Jack threw out with typical uncaring smugness, having found himself suddenly disinterested in big important mystical foreign affairs.

"The entity Xiaolin Master Fung sealed away two years ago had reemerged from its dimensional prison."

Jack blinked, finding himself suddenly interested in foreign affairs. "Oh."

"It manifested itself in the very same place it had been sealed: at the Xiaolin Temple. With the Xiaolin Monks still recovering even after so long, they were forced to retreat and abandon the Temple, as well as what Shen Gong Wu they had left. With the monks in no state for further conflict, Wuya and I were to confront the new threat to the world ourselves."

"Now _this_ is where the story gets good." Hannibal rubbed his two root-like hands together menacingly with his crooked-toothed grin. "Tell us, Chase, just how well that _confrontation_ of yours went."

"You know exactly how it went, fool!" Wuya squawked.

"I do." Hannibal admitted, a dark smile crossing him. "But I'd very much like to hear it from our great 'council leader' all the same..."

* * *

Next up: the last installment of chapter 2, in which Chase's story will be concluded.  
We'll see what happened during the 'entity confrontation', how Wuya lost her mortal body,  
And even how Jack of all people can be useful of all things.  
Indeed. Three-year events will be clarified and knowledge will be gained!


	6. CH2: The Heylin Council, PT3

**CHAPTER TWO: THE HEYLIN COUNCIL**  
**- [****_PART 3_****] -**

The conclusion has arrived!  
/cracks knuckles  
Okay, yeah, let's do this guys.

* * *

"It's a fairly simple tale." Chase stated, giving a calm and indifferent approach on Hannibal's account, if only just to aggravate. "We first approached the entity in trying to simply communicate with it; to uncover what its purpose was. It referred to itself as _Persaeus_ and voiced that its mission was to destroy the world. Thus, we commenced in battle."

The entire table was eye-locked onto Chase Young, deep within the beginning foundation of an ever-anticipated story, waiting for any bit of juicy detail. Even Jack was gaining invested interest now.

"_And_?" PandaBubba was the one to finally break.

"We lost."

...

What a buzz kill.

"We know that much already!" Hannibal protested, Chase's indifferent approach having successfully gotten the best of him.

To Jack however, this was very much new information. "Hey-hey, whoaaa, hold on. You mean to tell me that the almighty immortal Chase Young and all-powerful ancient evil witch Wuya BOTH lost against ONE enemy?" He let out a good laugh, the expressions on Chase and Wuya's faces saying it all. "Hah! That's rich!"

Chase narrowed his eyes to the boasting teen. "It's no laughing matter, Spicer." He warned. "That entity is the reason Wuya was reduced to her current state. If this 'Persaeus' wields that much power, then it is truly a great force to be reckoned with."

"Oh please!" Wuya spat. "If you had restored ALL of my limitless dark power, I could have easily destroyed that wretched, overgrown shadow and we wouldn't be where we are now!"

"If you were even remotely reliable with such power, perhaps I would have." Chase replied in all somberness. "But even then... I'm doubtful we could have defeated it."

"It's that powerful?" PandaBubba was the one to speak up, interested with such bleak information. "To think of a being that is able to defeat both a fully-powered Wuya and Chase Young..."

"Hai." Tubbimura agreed. "This foe sounds very treacherous..."

"Mighty treacherous indeed." Hannibal settled, twisted smile still in-tact.

Was it just him, or did the air suddenly change in here? Maybe it was the tone, or that crazy, creepy smile on Hannibal's face, but Jack couldn't help but get that foreboding-doom vibe again. This entity thing apparently _was_ serious Heylin business. So far it'd killed the old monk guy, did who knows what with Wuya's mortal body, and went so far as to freak none other than the almighty Chase Young out to some ambiguous degree, which was hey, kind of a big deal he guessed. The guy didn't really get freaked out or real worried over typical 'worldly threats' or whatever. Like. Ever. And yeah, everyone else acting all ominous about stuff wasn't helping.

"Okaaay, you guys are kinda weirding me out now." Jack tossed out amidst the uncanny air. He looked back to Chase with a hint of suspicion. "So... you really couldn't beat it?"

Chase gave an irritated growl. "Is that not what I just said?"

Jack only shrugged. "So what was your penalty then?"

An uncertain, almost daring brow rose amidst irritation. "Penalty?"

"Wuya was reduced to a floating disembodied ghost head. _Again_." Jack explained. "So what'd it do to you?"

In that small moment, Chase and Wuya exchanged a certain glance, Wuya's daunting expression giving away unmentioned cues, while Chase's brows furrowed with what seemed deep contemplation, if not even deeper irritation.

And after that small moment, Chase turned back to Jack. "I was able to depart from our foe 'un-penalized', as you so eloquently put it."

"No penalty, Chase? Really?" Hannibal couldn't help but perk up from his side of the long table, his southern tone of a satirically joyful nature. "How very convenient." Obnoxious as the little twit was, Jack had made an interesting point and Hannibal was never one to overlook such things.

Chase's cold glare instantly hit his arch-enemy. "Are you implying something, _bean_?" He dared.

Said bean only smiled back. "And if I so am?"

Before Chase could even open his mouth to assume threat, Katnappe was the one to speak up. "Forget that boring stuff," She said, snuffing off the matter entirely. "I wanna know what happened next."

"Yah!" Vlad agreed. "Ve vant hear moar of goot story!"

Chase gave the young cat burglar a good, long look before he settled back down, forcing himself to ignore Hannibal's teasing smile. Even Jack noted Chase's unusual struggle to repress his urge to all-out assault Hannibal. After a moment, he resumed his tale.

"It was a large, black mass in being," He finally continued. "With no true body or form to contain itself. For the first few weeks we stood by and watched Persaeus' progress. It didn't seem to be doing much aside from harbor itself within the Xiaolin Temple. The monks had constructed a temporary refugee camp a few miles from the Temple, trying to form some sort of strategy in retaliation, I assume. But without their leader, it seemed that they really were unable to do anything productive or useful."

"However," Chase was sure to add. "Just a few weeks ago Master Monk Guan assumed the role of new Master of the Xiaolin monks. He's been guiding them ever since, while at the same time the entity that's been infesting the Xiaolin Temple has been quickly expanding and growing in strength. It won't be long before Persaeus will be too powerful to defeat."

"That's why you've assembled us." PandaBubba established. "To join forces against this new threat."

"So that's it, is it Chase?" Hannibal questioned with a malicious smile. "You so formally summoned us here to help deal with this problem of yours?"

"Don't delude yourself." Was Chase's sharp reply. "This isn't _my_ problem. This _manifestation_ affects the entire world, and with it, all of you."

"Gah... Maybe scary Pers-thing just go away." Vlad offered.

"Hai, hai." Tubbimura agreed. "If we leave it be, perhaps it will simply disappear on its own."

Most of the other Heylins nodded to each other in agreement with the sentiment, avoidance obviously being the best choice of action after hearing of Chase and Wuya's uncharacteristic defeat.

"Imbeciles!" Chase finally snapped, taking with him the attention if the entire table, some even cowering from it. "Have you heard a single word I've said? That abomination has claimed that its purpose is to destroy the entire world! Are you really just going to sit by and let that happen?"

"But what we supposed to do about it?" Vlad finally spoke up with a lofty shrug, Le Mime cowering beside him from Chase's outburst. It seemed the other villains were just as curious, if not just as unmotivated.

Chase calmed himself in great effort of self-suppression. "I've formed a plan to deal with this... troublesome incident." He explained. "But we will require the Xaiolin monks' assistance. More specifically... the Xiaolin Dragons themselves."

"Hah! The monks' help?" Hannibal spat. "Sounds like an alliance. You really _have_ lost it, Chase."

Even the other Heylins seemed to agree with this, uncertainty flooding around the table.

"Even joined together as a single Heylin force, we'll still not be near powerful enough to defeat this new threat." Chase was quick to elaborate, placing both hands firmly on the table as he leaned into himself, as if a predator ready to strike. "So yes, it _will_ be a temporary alliance. Though the monks themselves are still hardly helpful in their current state, it's their connection with the Xiaolin Dragons that we truly require."

"By convincing the four Dragons to cooperate in a temporary Xiaolin-Heylin alliance for the sake of sparing the world from ultimate destruction," He finished, dire tone never having skipped a beat in forcing the table's burden. "The monks and Master Monk Guan will have no choice but to follow. They are our bargaining chip and only chance we have of defeating Persaeus."

The table was silent, all eyes continuing to scour Chase and minds continuing to absorb data, either in serious contemplation or complete condemnation.

Well. It was a plan anyway.

"But the Xiaolin Dragons... They disbanded years ago." Tubbimura finally spoke up.

"Yes... they did." Chase confirmed, before looking to Jack. "And that's where Spicer comes in."

The entire table turned to Jack.

Feeling attention suddenly on him, Jack straitened from an otherwise slouched position. "I come in?" He wasn't aware he would be coming in. Not at this point anyway. Maybe later on, when they would be talking about robots or spaceships. Because that would totally happen and he was completely expecting that to happen.

"The four chosen Xiaolin Dragons are now dispersed across the world." Chase explained to a now unnerved Jack. "Alone they are weak and vulnerable; together they can be the most powerful force this world has ever seen. Simply put, we require their unified power in order to defeat our new enemy. Your job, Spicer, is to reassemble the Xiaolin Dragons and convince them to join us in an alliance to defeat Perseaus."

Jack stared at Chase for a moment, taking in such a mouthful of responsibility. "...Really?"

Chase only stared back with that terrifying, expectant look he was so masterful at delivering.

"Wait for it," A clearly anticipating Wuya counted.

Naturally, and as wholly predicted by Wuya, Jack was the one to break. "Whoooa, time out!" He called, coming to stand while making a T with his hands. "You want ME - Jack Spicer, no-longer-is-but-was evil genius - to go find the four xiaolin losers - who seriously hate my guts, by the way - and somehow convince them all to team up with you, evil warlord of doom Chase Young of Team Heylin... which is apparently like, _an entire Heylin army_ here?"

"Yes."

"I don't even know where they are!" Jack pretty much instantly continued to fluster, Chase's expectant gaze never breaking. "A-and even if I did, what makes you think they'll listen to me anyway? We're kind of mortal enemies, remember? Good guys versus bad guy? Lots of butt-kicking and Xiaolin Showdowns?"

"And scrapped robot parts." Katnappe tossed out.

"ALL of my robots!" Jack lamented.

"Calm down." Chase asserted, already over this melodramatic drivel. "I'll give you direction. All you're required to do is follow order."

"And that's going to make them listen to me?"

"They'll listen to you of their own account." Chase stated.

"How the heck do you know that?"

"Because they _trust_ you."

"_Trust_ me?" Jack blurted out, turning to Wuya. "Is this guy serious?"

"Don't insult Chase!" Wuya spat back. She then looked to Chase. "..._Are_ you serious?"

"If I or anyone else could do it, it would be so and you wouldn't be here in the first place." Chase affirmed, looking to Jack with dire intent. "The monks hold little regard for any of us. You're the only one of us here that they remotely trust." He gave a small gesture, meaning resolute in nature. "Despite being enemies that have seen much conflict... it's evident from the past that the Xiaolin Dragons also see you on a different level than the rest of us."

Jack blinked. "Ooookay, I see where this is going." He was quick to raise defensive hands, suddenly finding himself desperately looking for a way out of this mess he soooo didn't belong in. "Look, let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Why can't you just go to this refugee camp or whatever and talk to that Guan guy yourself?"

"Fool!" Wuya sputtered. "Do you know nothing of the past? Chase and Guan are mortal enemies! We'd be the last ones he'd agree to forge an alliance with!"

"It makes sense." PandaBubba admitted, rubbing his chin in thought. "The boy being the only one of us able to convince such negotiations, that is, considering your current relationship with their new leader. I doubt any one of us would be any more effective. Less so, in fact."

"He can be the single stepping stone we need to reach their doorstep." Tubbimura offered.

"Well... they've joined forces with the dweeb before..." Katnappe also pitched in with a mischievous smile, the idea starting to sink in around the rest of the table. She gave a shrug. "Maybe they really _will_ listen to him."

"Is worth shot." Vlad too agreed. "Anything to stop Prometheus."

And Jack was speechless, almost in a daze. Again with the talking about him as if he weren't there! He looked around the table as the other Heylins began to talk on the matter, seeming to all agree that he was right for the job. Those nefarious conspirators.

"Right, yeah, that's... a really great plan and all, Chase." Jack lied, looking back to the immortal man. "Only I kinda have other things I need to do. Like, you know, get back to my _life_."

"Oh please!" Wuya laid in. "You call that a life?"

"It's a personal lifestyle choice!" Jack defended. "There's nothing wrong with it! Better than floating around as a disembodied head, anyway."

"Your 'life' can wait." Chase interrupted a sure to come typical countering Wuya fit. "The world is in jeopardy of being destroyed. If we don't defeat this new threat, there will be no 'life' for you to return to." He looked around the table. "It's the same for all of us. We cannot simply ignore this threat."

A serious wave of pout came over Jack in realizing that wow, that actually made a lot of sense. It still didn't make him think this plan would work, but yeah, evil entity equals doomsday equals no life, he got that, sure. Logic and stuff. "Alright, fine." He finally caved. "But what if it doesn't work? What if I can't convince the monks to join you? What happens then?"

"In that case... aside from losing any small amount of respect you might have here, you have utterly failed the world and may return back to your boorish, blundering life, as we'll no longer have any use for you."

"Really?" It almost sounded too good to be true.

"Really." Chase confirmed. "It's little concern of mine as to what you choose to do with your pathetic life."

"Sweet." Jack gave with a blissful grin in knowing he'd be going back to his happy, pathetic life.

"However," Chase added, sure not to leave Jack with that alone. "Failing will also result in you attaining many new enemies. Enemies that will doubtfully let you live peacefully of your own accord."

The group of Heylins surrounding the table all gave Jack threatening glares, sending a good chill down his spine. So... he could blow off the whole thing, fail, and go back to his normal life again... but he wasn't one to like living in constant fear of terrorizing enemies at every turn. That was incentive enough to try his best to actually make this stupid plan work.

"Okay, okay, I'll do it already! I'll go!" Jack reassured the table, very much fearing for his personal safety. That is, until a new idea hit him. "So... what happens if - ahh... _when _- I get them to agree to the alliance? I mean with like, what'll happen to _me_."

Chase gave a tiring sigh, rubbing his temples. "No matter the case, you may do what you will, Spicer. The only thing we need from you is the Xiaolin Dragons' cooperation. After that, I couldn't care less what you choose to do."

"That's a deal then?" Jack was sure to note. "Your word that I can leave when I'm done?"

Chase stared Jack down for a good, hard moment, eyes narrowing ever so slightly with study. "Yes. You have my word." He finally agreed, not failing to note Jack's apparent familiarity towards the warrior's creed; that a warrior's word was his bond. Perhaps the annoying insect had picked up more from the past than he'd thought. Or perhaps he was giving the worm too much credit and he'd simply struck luck with his chosen words - an often careless, improvident spectacle. Regardless, the licitness of his word still stood.

Jack resumed his satisfied approach, ready to get down to business. "Great. So where do I start?" He rubbed his hands together with sudden eagerness. "The sooner I get this over with, the sooner I can get outta here."

"You'll start by going to the Xiaolin monk refugee camp." Chase informed. "It is there that you will find your first objective: the Xiaolin Dragon of Water, Omi."

It was honestly a little odd for Jack to hear the familiar name after so long. He quickly brushed the strangely nostalgic sensation aside. "Alright. So I go talk to the cheeseball, convince him to team up with Team Heylin... then what?"

"Upon succeeding in conceiving Omi to join us, you must then travel the world and reassemble the other three Elemental Dragons - the Xiaolin Dragon of Earth: Clay Bailey, the Xiaolin Dragon of Fire: Kimiko Tohomiko, and The Xiaolin Dragon of Wind and lone Shoku Warrior: Raimundo Pedrosa."

Another odd moment for Jack to hear the familiar names. "Easy enough." He finally voiced, impatient confidence blaring despite him knowing virtually nothing of their current individual situations... or locations... or anything really.

"Hold on." Hannibal halted. "Who's to say Jackie here won't sabotage the plan?"

"Says the master of sabotaging." Katnappe snorted under her breath.

"That's right." PandaBubba agreed with the skeptical bean. "The boy has a history of betrayal, and no true incentive to succeed if the outcome is the same whether he succeeds or fails. What if he is to back out during this mission and flee into hiding?"

"Oh come on!" Jack whined, not liking any sort of set-back on his road back to normalcy.

"Spicer won't be alone." Chase assured. "Wuya will accompany him in the task."

"WHAT!" Both Wuya and Jack blurted out in perfect, harmonious unison.

"You're making me go with him?!" Wuya continued to spout in utter horror.

"You're to make sure Spicer succeeds in his given task." Chase asserted. "To reinforce the objective and supervise his actions. If he fails in any way, the consequence will fall on your hands as well."

"What hands..." Was the witch's dull reply, not humored in the slightest by being dragged down into the murky bowels of this troublesome event with Jack of all miserable flesh-bags.

"Hey, just like old times, right?" Jack said, nudging her with his elbow. "You, me... an impossible task to accomplish..."

"Don't remind me."

"You'll leave for the refugee camp first thing tomorrow." Was Chase's final contribution. "You best be prepared."

**CHAPTER TWO: THE HEYLIN COUNCIL - END**

* * *

And that concludes chapter 2.  
All that boring meeting stuff is finally over,  
and we can get to the fun action stuff now.


	7. CH3: Effective Immediately, PT1

**CHAPTER THREE: EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY  
- [_PART 1_] -**

Happy Thanksgiving, XS fans!

* * *

The citadel was hardly quiet with so many boisterous, halfway to insane Heylin villains running around. Were they all staying here or what? Like in some kind of gigantic Heylin sleepover? Okay, that was actually kinda cool, he had to admit. But for real, Jack honestly didn't think Chase would trust having so many powerful - and just plain weird - Heylins lingering around his super sweet lair. Eh, keep your enemies close and all that, right? Surely Chase had his own defenses in case of, well... _something_. An attack, a betrayal, some kind of epic setback. Anything where standard defenses were needed.

And speaking of standard defenses; ever since he got there he hadn't spotted the first jungle cat. Jack certainly remembered the fierce, terrifying creatures. They were like Chase's number one posse. Not to mention the ultimate defense system! Where the heck were they? Err... not that he was complaining or anything. Well, a lot had changed in three years. Maybe Chase just got bored of them or something.

Eventually things began to simmer down as evening faded into a moonlit darkness, everyone having retired for the night. Well, _mostly_ everyone.

_"Seeing as how your previous residence has long been abandoned and succumbed to mass deterioration, you'll be staying here at my citadel along with the other Heylin forces."_

That was what Chase had said earlier, to which Jack himself had mixed feelings about. First of all, despite an evil Heylin sleepover being kind of cool and what he'd always secretly wanted to orchestrate himself in the past, he did NOT by any circumstance consider himself Heylin now. He was neutral - a nice, safe, free neutral - and he was going to stay neutral. Because yeah, new life and stuff. Sure, three years ago he'd have been overwhelmed with gleeful fanboying excitement in being allowed to stay at Chase's insanely evil and totally awesome secret volcanic lair. But now he only felt out of place and yearning for his new, ordinary life. Not to mention _Ashley_ was staying here too. Bleh. Of all the people...

Oh, whatever. It didn't matter now. What _did_ matter was finding a secluded place to make a promised phone call...

He'd been searching since the council ended for a more privatized area to conduct his personal business. Unfolding the delicate piece of paper Cindy had given him yesterday afternoon, Jack began dialing the formally printed numbers on his cellular phone, having finally found hidden refuge in the lush inside garden area of the inner sanctum.

It took a good, shameless while. Numbers dialed in, it took maybe like, five or so minutes for him to actually push the stupid call button. First call to a girl. A girl he liked. A girl that actually liked him. A girl that was in a completely different world, away from the absurd craziness he was currently experiencing, who knew nothing about mystical artifacts or ancient battle lore or doomsday monsters. He activated the call.

Faint ringing had initiated and Jack could feel his heart began to race, only for it to almost stop once that familiar static sound was heard.

"Hello?" A delicate voice came through on the other end.

"Cindy? Y-yeah, this is, uh... Jack."

"Jack!" The voice imminently perked up. "How are you! And how was the trip? Did you make it to China alright?"

Jack slightly adjusted himself. "Oh - yeah, it was real smooth getting here." He answered, feeling a bit more comfortable. "Like I said, China's pretty dull and all that. Family's even duller."

"Haha, you're so funny, Jack!" Cindy laughed. "Well I'm glad you made it there safely. China's so far away."

"Yeah, would have been nice to have a teleporting Shen Gong Wu." Jack mumbled to himself in his exhausted, careless state.

"What was that?" Cindy questioned.

"Uhhh - nothing." He pinched the bridge of his nose, kicking himself to stop slipping up like an idiot. "The plane ride was just... _really_ long. And my _family_ put me to work like the minute I got here. I'm so beat."

"Aww. Well don't work too hard." Cindy giggled. "So when will you be coming back home?"

And that was the sad news.

"Weeeell... not exactly sure, actually." Jack admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. How long was it going to take to complete this stupid mission again? "It'll probably be a couple of days. But for real, there's _no way_ I'm staying here more than a week."

"A week _is_ a pretty long time." Cindy's voice dropped. "I hope it really _is_ only a few days. It's rather boring here without you. Everyone's wondering when you'll be back."

Jack blinked a few times with pause. "Really?"

"Well of course, silly! Everyone here misses you." Her voice grew shy in tone. "And I miss you too... So come back as soon as possible, okay? Like you promised."

Wow... that was just plain unexpected.

Jack gave into a deep blush, eyes darting around nervously. "Yeah, uh... me too. I mean, I feel the same way." He shook off the embarrassed blush. "B-but don't worry! I'll be back before you know it. Like I promised!"

"I'll hold you to that, Jack." Cindy said with a happier tone. "Well, I have to go to class now... Call me again, would you? I'd love to talk some more."

Class? As in school? Oh, right. Other side of the world business. 10:00 pm here was like 10:00 am there.

"Right, no problem." Jack said. "I'll call again tomorrow."

"Okay. Talk to you tomorrow, Jack! Bye!"

"Yeah, bye."

And with that he was quick to end the phone call, now just looking to the small cellular phone in his hand. Well that was a little nerve-racking. And a little weird in places... - a small smile crept over his face - ...but it was also kinda nice.

"Who was that?"

Jack just about jumped out of his skin with a small yelp, quick to hide the phone behind his back through hastened fumbling.

And there Katnappe was - black leather cat costume and all - sitting atop the enlarged, elegant water fountain, peering down to him with a humored, interested smile. "_Family_, huh?" She snorted. As if eavesdropping wasn't bad enough. "That your little girlfriend I've heard so much about?"

'_Girlfriend_' again. Jack could only inwardly groan. It was hardly surprising a certain _evil Heylin witch_ had blabbed her own deluded misconceptions to everyone. He leered back to the shapely cat-bugler, pocketing his phone. "Let me guess: Wuya told you that?"

"What if I told you it was Chase Young?"

"...What?!"

Katnappe let out a good, hardy laugh. "Haha, I'm just kidding! It was Wuya, you spaz! You should have seen your face!"

Jack held back a flustered blush. "Man, you haven't grown up at all!"

She only threw back a satisfied smile. "Hey, gotta stay young."

"Young. Right. So that's why you're still running around with the whole 'cat burger' get-up." Jack continued to badger, eying her new and much more revealing costume with certain inexact judgement. "Figured you would've grown out of it by now."

"It's just a hobby." Katnappe explained rather indifferently, confidence surrounding her. "Besides... it beats going to _law school_."

Great. So she found out about that too.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with law school - lawyers make a lotta money, you know!"

"Uh-huh." An unfazed Katnappe tossed back with a knowing grin.

Jack let out a grumble, evidently unable to win this stupid game. "Whatever," He finally shrugged her off. "You spying on me for a reason or what?"

"Like I'd need a reason to do that." Katnappe replied in retort. "But if you must know - yeah. There _is_ a real neat-o reason I tracked your sorry butt down all the way out here."

The feline-themed villain hopped from the fountain, tail swishing from side to side as she made her way towards Jack. "Chase wants me to show you to your room." She explained, walking past him. "Since you'll be staying here for a good, long while and all."

"It won't be that long." Jack was sure to correct, following Katnappe's lead out of the water garden. "I'm only staying until I can get those Xiaolin losers to come back."

"So I've heard." Katnappe purred to herself with interest, leading back into the inner citadel. "So you really don't wanna stay, huh?"

"What?" The question caught him at a rather off angle. "Of course I don't. This place blows."

"And law school doesn't?"

Jack gave into another grumble. Being completely and utterly misunderstood was one thing, but having to defend his pathetic life choices to the very people that condemned him just freaking sucked sometimes. "Look. It's real simple." He explained with oozing spite. "There's nothing _for_ me here. So I'm making my life _somewhere else_."

"Haha, right," Katnappe snickered to herself with a humored smile. "Because being a lawyer's gonna give you everything you've ever wanted."

"Oh, and like running around in a cat costume is SO much better!" Jack was quick to throw back, still feeling a bit estranged with his rival's new design. "Didn't you go to beauty school or something?"

"Yup." Katnappe answered, still taking lead through the elegant corridors, illuminated by burning torches on the eastern wall, the alternative western wall a series of open stone windows showcasing the misty night sky amidst their high altitude. "Got bored with it and decided to stick with the 'cat burglar get-up' for a little while longer." She made a rather disgusted face. "Ugh, you wouldn't _believe_ some of the people I had to put up with as a hair stylist in-training."

Jack only looked away with his own rebuffed look. "Psh, bet it's not as bad as dealing with the people here."

"Oh, but it was! That's why I came back." She stopped at a large stone door at the very end of the corridor, now turning to face Jack. "Hate to say it, but I've almost gotten... attached to everyone here, goodie and baddie alike."

Jack gave a dubious snort. "You can't be serious."

Another humored smile crossed the girl. "I'm just saying. It's really not all that bad here in the world of mystic craziness and supernatural chaos. You should consider coming back too. Someday you really won't be able to."

Jack raised a brow, odd look in tact. "You're trying to convince me to stay?"

Katnappe batted a paw at him. "As if. I'm just giving some friendly _family_ advice." She teased a cringing Jack, turning to leave. "Anyway, that's your room. I'm actually kind of jealous. So try not to make too much of a mess. Later, doofus."

Jack watched with mild curiosity as Ashley disappeared back down the other end of the corridor, her words only lingering there with him. It made him wonder what her angle was in all this. There was always something... But he was in no mood to try and decipher any underlying meaning. It was too late for that garbage. Instead, he turned to the large stone doorway before him.

"My room, huh?" Well, the door was huge enough... Could he even open it?

Pushing on the massive construct with as much force as he could muster, one of the two massive stone doors slowly came to open with a rumbling sound until a large room could be seen on the other end.

A good "Whoa." escaped him, witnessing the incredibly large and elegant room.

It had a sort of old-world gothic feel to it, mostly stone and dark wooded interior furnishing the place. It felt dark and cold and like a real medieval citadel. Walking about the large rounded room, Jack could only look around a bit in wonder.

"Man, if this is Chase's guest room, I bet his end of the place is _godly_."

It was probably fit for a king. He'd only seen the king's quarters once - back when he'd taken the dark citadel over himself that one time - but it'd been three years since then. A lot had changed, as seen earlier, and from the looks of things already, it seemed Chase had done some serious renovating over that lengthy period of time.

The teen threw himself on the king-sized bed, staring up at the ridiculously huge ceiling.

_"I'd suggest getting a good night's rest, Spicer,"_ Chase's ominous voice from earlier that evening came buzzing back in his head. _"For you have quite the task to begin accomplishing tomorrow."_

Jack slapped a pillow over his face. As if he could actually sleep! Honestly, it was the first time in the entire day he actually had a moment to think to himself... even if it was near midnight and his brain was fried and he really hated everything about this.

Seriously. How was he supposed to get those monk guys back together and join forces with team Heylin? They hated him! Chase was crazy making him do this, and so was everyone else for thinking it could actually work!

...But he had to try. It was the only way to get back to his new and wonderfully normal life. Back to his school and studies and friends and Cindy. Back to trying to actually _make_ something of himself with a real life in a real world.

He threw the pillow aside, looking back up to the ceiling again. Fine. Tomorrow then. He'd go to that stupid monk refugee camp and talk to the cheeseball for the first time in three years. Hopefully, by some miracle, he wouldn't be maimed on sight.

He couldn't help but think about the little guy as his mind slowly drifted off into dream-world, until his thoughts were completely engulfed in pure, unadulterated slumber...

**x x x**

_Glowing, red eyes seeped out from the darkness, watching its mark closely as a deep, sharp-toothed smile crossed its faceless expression._

_It had been watching him for a good while now, ever since learning of certain fate._

_It was all too easy luring him in, and provided reformation submitted itself to failure, it would be all too easy to dispose of him as well..._

* * *

Short section, yes.  
I've debated quite a lot on how to divide this three-part chapter,  
And this was how it worked out best for the other two parts.  
(Of which are each more than twice as long as this one.)  
Next time via part 2: the morning starts off with a bang and things happen.  
/lawl


	8. CH3: Effective Immediately, PT2

**CHAPTER THREE: EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY  
- [_PART 2_] -**

I find myself neglecting my studies for this.  
Not that that's anything new.

* * *

Happy, adorable giggles and the bright silhouette of a beautiful girl swayed back and forth through his dream-like state. It was pure bliss being in the presence of such a warm and wonderful soul who radiated nothing but light and goodness. A smile crept on Jack's face as the light illuminating the stunning figure grew brighter and brighter... until he finally opened his eyes.

There lied Jack on the large, elegant bed; now awake and peering into the sparkling eyes of none other than Le Mime, who stood not a foot from his face, staring at him with that eerily happy smile of his as the bright early morning light from the large windows lingering above blindingly illuminated the background surrounding him.

"AHHH!" Were Jack's first words of the day, him instantly jolting upright in bed and hastily puling the thick covers up in defense. "WHAT THE HECK IS THIS?!"

Le Mime's chipper smile didn't fade in the least, him instead only receding back a few inches and giving simple gestures with his hands in form of communication.

"I already told you! I don't speak mime!" Jack shouted in reply, privacy still feeling incredibly assaulted.

Le Mime only waved him off with an incorrect indication and continued to gesture, two fingers now posing as legs as they walked on his other hand.

"Ugh... This is SO not how to start a normal day." Jack groaned to himself. "How'd you even get in here!"

"Simple. We use key."

"Huh?" Jack looked across the other side of the room to see Vlad standing there with a wide, gap-toothed grin, apparently enjoying the scene.

The husky Russian held up a large, silver key. "Chase give it to us. Tell us to come get your lazy butt."

"You don't say..." Jack gave a dulled look to Vlad then Le Mime, who only nodded in confirmation with smile.

"Da, say." Vlad answered. "Chase say to meet him in big waterfall room. He have important thing to tell you."

A curious cord stuck him. Something important? "Oh. Right. Big important mission thing." Jack lazily remembered. He looked back to Vlad regarding this 'important thing'. "Well, what is it?"

Vlad only shrugged. "Not know. We told only to deliver important message." A suddenly wider grin sprouted. "And deliver _you_ if you not want to get out of bed."

Seemed like Chase also remembered his amazing sleeping habits and unique ability to sleep the entire day away. Was there anything the guy didn't think of? Ever? _Please_?

"No, no - I'm up, I'm up!" Jack threw the covers off and hopped out of the large bed, pushing Le Mime aside as he gathered his clothes for the day, Vlad seeming almost disappointed he wouldn't be manhandling anyone. "It's not like I can actually go back to _sleep_." Not after THAT wake-up call anyway.

He then paused at the dresser to look back to Vlad and Le Mime as they just stood there, watching him.

"You guys, uh... feel like leaving now?" His derisiveness asked. "While I, you know..._ change clothes_?" Because either of them taking a hint was like waiting for the fiery depths of Hades to freeze over.

Neither moved.

"We stay, make sure you up." Vlad answered. "But cover eyes to make sissy-boy feel better."

Both Vlad and Le Mime covered their eyes with one hand.

And Jack could only slouch. "...I hate my life."

**x x x**

"So. You recruited that adorably pathetic nuisance into our ranks. Very shifty, Chase. Very shifty indeed... For bein' a _team_."

Chase eyed his adversary with certain acumen. "Working together in a temporary alliance and giving one's complete unyielding trust are two very different things, Hannibal." A small, contented smile crept over the immortal man's face. "You of all people should know that."

"That I most certainly do." Hannibal agreed, his own dark smile crossing him, past relations serving as a deep undertone in memory.

The two powerful enemies had found themselves on the outside, unrailed terrace of Chase's large, evil-seeping lair amongst the wee hours of the morning, damp mountain mist surrounding the volcanic base as gentle morning light trickled through. Hannibal had Moby Morphed himself to around the size of Chase now, sure not to be out-matched even in height, and the red and black Ying-Ying bird sat diligently perched inside one of the fiery yellow eye-sockets engraved on the outer lair's welcoming skull-faced entrance.

Hannibal's demeanor no sooner displayed indifference towards Chase's untrusting behavior of him. He understood where his eternal adversary was coming from completely, considering the feeling was very much mutual. "And you actually think that robot-tinkerin' twit can help us?" He laughed.

"I've already explained Spicer's purpose for being here." Chase replied, walking ahead on the terrace, his back now to his most loathed enemy. "The annoying worm plays a small part in this trying incident, but an incredibly vital one all the same."

"Agreed. But let us say that our precious little pawn isn't successful in your... assigned mission." Hannibal dared as he watched Chase's back. "If that pathetic whelp fails to convince all four Xiaolin Dragons to reunite. What then?"

Indeed. From Jack's perspective it was a simple layout. Ultimately, whether he succeeded or failed in his given mission, he'd be able to return to his normal life. Even if consequences were to be had for failure, it still wouldn't change the actual outcome. So what did that mean for everyone else?

"Do not concern yourself with such unavailing thoughts." Chase directly assured, holding his position, hands behind his back. "This plan is fool-proof. Even for an insect like Spicer. He'll be successful because he has no choice but to succeed."

A wicked smile then crossed Hannibal, that statement alone confirming his inner accusations of the great and mighty Chase Young. It was exactly what he'd wanted to hear. "Hah!" The bean cackled from behind. "You don't have a plan, do you?"

Chase turned his head back, eyes narrowing to his accuser, voice a threatening low. "What was that?"

It was now made very clear to Hannibal just how much faith Chase placed on his plan actually working. Or rather, how much faith he placed in Jack of all people to actually succeed. It was obvious: the 'reunite the four dragons' mission was Chase's only laid-out plan. A trickle-down effect. If this one piece of the plan failed then the rest of the plan failed. It was a delightful insight for Hannibal to ascertain, and even more so to confront.

"You actually made a gamble on the boy," Hannibal elaborated. "Bettin' everything in one play on his success! You didn't even bother to think what to do if he does indeed fail."

Chase was silent, only glaring at the spouting bean, self-control over brute, instinctual assault forcing itself to take over once more. He returned his head forward, staring out at the thick morning mist, hands gripped tightly behind his back with suppressed fury. "You'd best bite your tongue, _Bean_," He warned through gritted teeth, not even able to look at his adversary at this point. "Before you say something you won't be able to fitfully _mend_."

"Oh come now, Chase." Hannibal only persisted from his backside. "I don't see why you don't stop foolin' around with this nonsense and simply issue an all-out-attack on that obnoxious shadow. How tough can it actually be? An entire Heylin force joined together against it? It wouldn't stand a half a chance!"

"You have NO idea what we're up against!" Chase finally exploded, suddenly turning to fully face Hannibal head-on. "That THING is far more powerful than you or I; we have to plan things accordingly! There is NO room for error!"

Such an outburst truly did take Hannibal aback. But he was quick to regain composure. It seemed yet another interesting insight was brought to light for Hannibal regarding the fabulous Chase Young.

"Oh-ho. Well I do declare..." The wicked bean laid in calmly after a moment. "You're _afraid_ of it."

The accused let out a low, searing growl. "What?"

Chase Young feared nothing; concerned no one; slaved himself to no trepidations.

"You're obviously not capable of leadin' this team, Chase." Hannibal happily elaborated. "You've gambled the entire world away on a mere boy - and an utterly hopeless one at that - while claimin' to bring down an enemy you're clearly unable to soundly face." A dark smile came over the cunning villain once more. "If the boy isn't successful in convincin' the Xiaolin forces to join us, I'll be taking over head council of the Heylin alliance. Are we in agreement?"

"No."

"Splendid!" Hannibal gave a low, dark laugh as he began his root-like crawling leave back into the citadel. "An impeachment it is."

**x x x**

"So I wake up to a creepy clown staring at me while I _sleep_ - then I'm forced out of bed by _Vlad_ saying Chase wanted me for some unknown though supposedly really super important reason - I barely make it down the hallway past a big, drooling Cyclops who, of course, was waiting outside my room and can now apparently _talk_, like what's up with that - ...and now Chase isn't even here!"

"What's your point?"

"Oh, no. No, nothing. I'm just saying, you know, how my morning went. I mean, being stuck waiting here with you is just the icing on top."

"Bah! Do you EVER shut up?!"

Jack had been waiting at the appointed location - as in the inner sanctum (or 'big waterfall room' as Vlad had so eloquently put it) of the citadel - with Wuya of all ancient evil spirits for about half an hour now.

That morning he'd managed to equip a white and red sleeveless shirt with a black leather jacket over top and dark torn blue jeans stuffed in black leather boots. His hair was wild and free and eyes lightly outlined with black eyeliner. Years may have passed, but some things really did never change.

In any case for Jack and Wuya, with nothing but each other's company for that escalating time of waiting was already wreaking certain repercussions.

"You know, I bet he's doing this on purpose." Jack mused to himself as he sat on the bottom stair of one of the many elegant staircases in the large room, head resting lazily in his hands as the sounds of multiple waterfalls lingered in the background.

"And why would he do that?" Wuya dared to question.

"For earlier. You know, for being late?"

"Ah, the council. Yes." Wuya agreed. "So in other words, this is all _your_ fault."

"As always." Jack let out a loud groan, leaning back and stretching himself out on the steps. "Man, this is the worst family reunion ever."

"Foolish boy! This is no _family reunion_!" Wuya scolded. "This is an evil Heylin alliance!"

Jack gave a lofty shrug, the 'family' excuse from his normal life still at play. "Eh. Same thing, really. All that's missing are Chase's terrifying jungle cats." He gave her a questioning look. "Say, where are they anyway?"

"Oh... that. Err, uhh... well, um..."

"Problem?"

"They're on vacation!"

"Vacation...?"

"Yes!"

A long pause initiated, Jack just staring at the ghostly apparition... before giving an uncaring shrug. "Sounds legit to me." He'd seen crazier things here in China. Nothing surprised him anymore. This place was so stupidly crazy.

"I hope you're ready for today, Spicer." Then came a voice from behind them. "You've much to accomplish."

Both Jack and Wuya looked back to see Chase at the top of the elegant staircase, peering down at them.

"Chase!" Wuya shouted. "Where were you? We've been waiting for hours now!"

"Yeah, and waiting with Wuya doesn't exactly make time fly, you know." Jack added, the half hour indeed feeling like 'hours' in areas.

"How appropriate," Chase answered rather indifferently as he made his way down the small staircase, now standing before Jack and Wuya. "Considering your own late arrival yesterday evening."

"See! I told you he was doing it on purpose!"

Wuya only gave a dramatic roll of her eyes. "Ugh! Chase, are you _really_ going to make me go with this... infuriating _man-child_?!"

"Yes." Was the curt answer. "Now listen up. Both of you." Chase gave a dire look to the two involuntary partners. "As explained yesterday, you will both be going to the monk refugee camp to convince Omi to join us. However," He was sure to mark, grim tone crossing his words. "Wuya must remain hidden during this time. With Guan as the Xiaolin monks' new Master, we cannot afford to take risk of him thwarting the plan by rejecting an audience with our target."

"Agreed!" Wuya swayed happily. "So why don't I just stay here and-"

"Also, Spicer." Chase turned specific attention to Jack. "You are by no means to tell Guan or the other Xiaolin monks that you're collaborating with the Heylin side. As far as they're concerned, you're neutral."

"Neutral?" Jack questioned. "Really? I left on neutral terms?"

"Hardly." Chase answered. "Yet it's where you currently stand all the same." The immortal man narrowed his eyes to the teenage boy. "Do you understand what it is you must do?"

"Yeah, sure, what's not to understand?" Jack threw back with a haughty air, now standing and straightening the collar of his jacket out. "Sneak in as a neutral, grab chedderhead, go find the other three losers and bring them back so I can finally get outta here and back to my awesome life."

"Good." Was all Chase said, obviously in no mood to deal with Jack's typical snide mannerisms at the moment. "Then that leaves only one more matter we must discuss before your departure. Come."

Chase turned and briskly walked through the main chamber towards yet another massive corridor, leaving Jack and Wuya to exchange a wondering look for a brief moment before quickly following after.

**x x x**

"Hey, I remember this room!" Jack made his way to the middle of the large circular room he, Chase, and Wuya had just entered, looking around the vast space of the area. "This was where we both fought against those Xiaolin losers, remember?"

Indeed. This was the 'Playroom', the very room in which Chase and Guan had a showdown so long ago. It was used as a training room of sorts; an area originally designed for Chase to train himself, his jungle cat warriors, or even certain Xiaolin monks of whom he'd successfully turned to the side of evil.

"Correct, Spicer." Chase confirmed, he and Wuya making their own way to center-stage alongside Jack. "These are my personal training quarters." He closed his eyes. "But this room also serves another purpose."

The ground gave a violent rumble as vicious, heated flames no sooner dramatically emerged all around them, encircling and thus trapping them where they were.

"AAHH!" Jack let out a high-pitched scream, sure to fall back as close to the center as possible, where Chase was sure to already stand. "Right... evil fire pit... I, ah, guess I forgot about that part of the room..."

"Still the scaredy-cat, are we?" Wuya teased with a devilish smile as she came beside him.

"No...!" Jack whined in defense. "...But some warning still would've been nice... AHH!" Yet another pathetic yelp was let out as the ground actually began to move this time, the platform they were on now slowly sinking lower and lower, descending below the bursting flames. Jack looked up and around as they continued to descend. "Hey, w-what's going on?"

"In the lowest depths of my citadel lies a location I rarely reveal to anyone." Chase began, arms crossed over his chest as he calmly stood in the center of the moving platform. "A secure vault in which I keep my most prized possessions."

"Prized possessions?" Jack wondered, curiosity striking. "Like what?"

"Like Shen Gong Wu!" Wuya declared in marvelous, triumphant glee.

"Yes. Like Shen Gong Wu." Chase calmly agreed.

"Wait..." Wuya's exited look was suddenly replaced by a look of utter horror. "You can't mean..."

The platform came to a raddling halt, now an open arched doorway carved from the cold grey stone standing before them.

"That's right." Chase said, confirming Wuya's worst fear, first to lead through the hidden arched doorway. "To secure this mission's success, Spicer will be issued the aid of Shen Gong Wu."

The new room they now found themselves in was encased in cold stone walls with no windows or doors, the coldness from its damp atmosphere chilling to the bone. Cobwebs lingered in corners, dust settled on bookshelves and statues, and even a cool light mist seemed to seep around the room. Ancient artifacts lingered here and there, as did glowing gems and diamonds sprinkled on mounds of gold coin. It really was a secret evil vault.

Jack gave an impressed whistle. "Man, I never knew this place was here." He said, looking around as he wondered about, secretly questioning if he could might get away with swiping a small something or other. If he'd known Chase had a super secret evil vault this whole time he would have been all over it years ago. He then looked back to said immortal warrior. "Did you say you were giving me Shen Gong Wu?"

"Chase! What are you doing!" Wuya sputtered, frantically floating around Chase as the man made his way to a huge, dusty old bookshelf. "You can't give him Shen Gong Wu!"

"Unfortunately, we have little choice in the matter." Chase replied.

He pulled one of the books from the bookshelf, waving a glowing dark magic-influenced hand over the thick, obediently opening cover and ancient turning pages until a certain page was found, glowing hand then pressed firmly upon it as a hidden inscribed symbol appeared upon said page. The following glowing outline around the bookshelf gave way to the entire structure sliding back into the wall, and then outward to create a door-like entrance to an otherwise hidden chamber, leaving Wuya to cringe in frustration and Jack to stand there and gawk in dazzled wonder.

"Okay, gotta say," Jack piped up. "That's freakin' sweet. You've GOT to show me how to do that."

Chase gave an eye-rolling grunt. He'd almost forgotten how obnoxious Spicer could be. Three years was hardly enough time between such irksome interactions. "Just wait here." He ordered, placing the mysterious magical book back on the bookshelf and entering the new passage.

"But-!" Wuya just floated there as Chase disappeared into the darkened hidden chamber, only for him to reappear a short moment later with two Shen Gong Wu in hand.

Jack perked up. "Hey, that's that Falcon's Eye and Shroud of Shadows!"

"As I explained yesterday evening, there was a time of Heylin prosperity in which many Shen Gong Wu were easily obtained." Chase stated, coming towards Jack with both Wu in hand. "Wuya had her fair share of... showdown participation, anyway." He added irritably under his breath - Wuya giving a huff herself - before handing the two ancient magical artifacts to Jack. "These will no doubt help you in your given task."

As Chase made his way to the other side of the room, Jack had a good moment of youthful sentiment holding both familiar ancient artifacts in hand. There was a time that he would have done just about anything to get his hands on one of these items. They symbolized power and opportunity and freedom and...

He looked back to Chase, sure to compose himself, memory of certain resentment now returning as well. "So... you're just giving these to me then?"

"Of course not. They belong to me." Chase answered from his position. With Wuya giving a quick spout to that, glaring eyes settled on the witch. "Technically, they belong to Wuya." He added, looking back to Jack. "Consider it me letting you borrow them. An investment, if you will." He then inscribed yet another symbol in the air in front of him with a glowing index finger and reached a hand into a newly manufactured dark portal. Hand retrieved from the dark portal, it now held a new artifact altogether, the portal sealing itself with another wave of Chase's hand. "This comes included with the package." He tossed the strange new object to Jack, of whom barely caught it in already holding two Shen Gong Wu.

"Whoa... what's this?" Jack wondered as he examined the new artifact. It was a blue and gold-colored pyramid-shaped object, about the size of a large coffee cup. He'd never seen it before and he had to say, it looked pretty wicked.

"A Shen Gong Wu that had reviled itself after you left." Chase informed. "The Indigo Pyramid. It possesses the ability of allowing its user to change an opponent's mind."

Jack continued to examine the strange, new artifact. "Seriously?" Hey, a Wu like that would totally be helpful in trying to convince his loathed enemies to join them! "Sweeet. This mission'll be a piece of cake."

"Chase!" Wuya began to spout again. "Are you sure it's a good idea to give Jack of all people Shen Gong Wu? _Especially_ right now!"

"Hey, why wouldn't it be a good idea?" Jack whined in the background.

"It's just a precaution." Chase explained to the ever-critical witch before looking back to Jack, sharp voice suddenly demanding direct, unwavering attention. "Spicer,"

Jack gulped with feeling the sudden intensity seeping around the intimidating warrior, all three Shen Gong Wu in his arms.

"These are strange and dangerous times." Chase began before narrowing his eyes to a dangerous level of their own. "As powerful as they are, and as helpful as they can be, the Shen Gong Wu are unpredictable at this time. Unstable. You are to use them merely as a last resort, only when absolutely necessary. Nothing more. Understood?"

Jack blinked a few times, wondering if the intense moment was over already.

"Spicer!"

"Yeah, yeah! Dangerous times! Got it!" Jack quickly fed in before he'd be mauled to death.

Chase let out a low grumble to himself. He could already feel a headache coming on. "Good. You shall leave then. We've wasted enough time today already."

With yet another waved hand, the glowing bookshelf automatically moved itself to settle in it's original position, blocking the secret passage as if a super secret awesome chamber didn't exist and this whole affair never happened. Chase was quick to then make his way to the wall opposite of the main entrance of the room where a grimy old mirror framed with gold and riddled with gems hung on the cold stone wall. Upon Chase's mere presence did the old glass disappear into a translucent, permeable wall, Chase's skewed reflection replaced by a lever seen on the other side.

"...Freaky." Was Jack's contribution to that.

Chase reached hand into the mirror and pulled the lever to a downward point. In result, a new passage revealed itself to the dark chamber and its guests, only this time from the stone ground as a spiral stone staircase appeared through the thick floor, leading downward into a torchlit spiral decent.

"Ooh, back-door escape, huh?" Jack said, already captivated by the awesome idea. "...I feel like I should be writing all of this down..."

"It will take you to the base of the mountain." Chase curtly informed. "From there, you're on your own."

Jack blinked. On his own. No more Chase bossing him around. Just him and uh... _Wuya_.

"I _so_ got this." Jack flaunted, a newly determined vibe washing over, inspiration to return to his normal life hitting harder than ever. "Yup. On it. Let's do this." The sooner he got this stupid mission over with, the sooner he could go back home. He thus made his way to the downward-spiraling staircase, pumped with new enthusiasm, equipped with invested Shen Gong Wu, Wuya following, ready to embark...

"And Jack,"

Jack stopped, looking back to Chase.

"Good luck."

The immortal man turned and headed back the way they'd come, until the platform they'd descended on earlier rose upwards and Chase had disappeared from sight, officially leaving Jack and Wuya to their own.

The two just stood there for a moment, reveling in such oddity and new atmosphere... until Jack's burning intrigue came to front.

"Sooo... just how long's this swirly staircase anyway?"

Wuya only grinned back at him. "Let's just say it's... 'mountain high'... muahaha! I'll meet you at the bottom." She disappeared through the floor with another laugh.

"Hey, no fair!" Jack called after her, now descending himself.

* * *

Poor Chase. He's under a lot of stress right now.

The Indigo Pyramid Shen Gong Wu,  
Courtesy of the Xiaolin Showdown trading card game.  
Also, "Moby Morphed"  
Yet another amazing bullshit word I've somehow managed to pull out of my ass.

Next chapter: the last installment of chapter 3,  
In which Jack finally confronts Omi after three long years.  
(You guys haven't been waiting for that moment or anything, have you?)


	9. CH3: Effective Immediately, PT3

**CHAPTER THREE: EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY**  
**- [_PART 3_] -****  
**

Sorry it took so long for an update.  
With having a December birthday, apocalypse parties, and Christmas,  
I'm amazed I haven't spontaneously combusted!  
Anyway, chapter 3 - part 3. Enjoy!

* * *

_Red, glowing eyes cast over the vast mountains, valleys, and hills of China, watching its mark even still. _

_Yes. Progress as you might. It wouldn't make a difference in the end. Nothing would._

_Not as long as it still held the power of will and dominion, of present and foresight..._

**x x x**

"Jack! What did Chase JUST say about using the Shen Gong Wu!"

"Oh, come on, it's one little Wu. What could possibly happen?"

"Jack Spicer, if you use that Wu—!"

"Falcon's Eye!"

Wide grin in-tact, Jack held the small 'see-anything' Shen Gong Wu up to his right eye as he and Wuya stood on a hillside overlooking the Xiaolin monk refugee camp below, the mid-day sun shining down brightly upon them.

From what Jack could see from that distance thanks to the telescope-like abilities of the Falcon's Eye, not to mention the barrier-piercing see-through effect, the camp wasn't very big at all. It was pretty much a little plot of land that sat in a valley between the vast expanse of the rural Chinese hillsides. But perhaps it just seemed smaller from such a distant location. Tents were visibly set up, the remains from last night's camp fires lingered about, and training grounds and equipment were scattered around everywhere.

It looked like a flaming pile of crap.

Jack pulled the Wu from his eye, still looking down upon his target location. "Uhhh, yeah. Looks kinda rough down there." He observed. "Guess they didn't have time to pack their bags when that shadow thing attacked again, huh."

"Hah!" Wuya's bitter laugh sliced through the clean, peaceful air. "If they had, half the actual _useful_ Shen Gong Wu wouldn't still be stuck at the Xiaolin Temple!"

Jack turned to look at her. "Huh? There's Wu at the Temple?"

"Of course there are! Those imbecilic monks were too slow to gather ALL the Shen Gong Wu before they fled like bumbling cowards!"

Now that he thought about it, he _did_ remember Chase saying something or another about that in the council. A rather ironic statement from Wuya, Jack thought, considering that both her and Chase had fled after being defeated in battle themselves... But he supposed her bitterness was mostly just placed on losing Shen Gong Wu in general, her most beloved ancient artifact items and apparently only reason for existing.

"Oooh, I get it now." A snide grin came over Jack with his own realization, having picked up on the fact a while back though had no answer to such at the time. "That's why you can't do the old 'Serpent's Tail, Reversing Mirror' combo to get your body back. The Wu's trapped at the Temple with that Persaeus thing."

"Well, the Serpent's Tail is, anyway." Wuya lamented dully. "That wretched _mime_ has the Reversing Mirror."

Saving the world from its untimely destruction or not, it seemed Wuya definitely had her own personal motives for jumping on Chase's Heylin alliance bandwagon. Too bad Jack couldn't care less about going that deep into this mess. "Well hey, it's not like you're not used to being a useless ghost head anyway, right?" Was his friendly contribution before looking back to the campground below. "So how're we gonna do this?"

An already incensed Wuya glowered with stormy discontent. "You mean you don't have a plan?!"

"I'm a one step at a time kind of guy." Jack defended. "Plans come to me as I go."

"Well hurry it up already, I don't have all day!"

"Right... Shroud of Shadows!"

No sooner was the blanket Shen Gong Wu given to him earlier thrown over the impatient Heylin witch, making her disappear from sight, though unfortunately not from sound.

"_What_?! JACK! I already told you! Stop so carelessly using the Shen Gong Wu!"

"Would you _relax_?" Jack reassuringly swayed. "What harm could the Shroud of Shadows do? Besides, we need it. How else am I supposed to sneak you in there?"

"Graaahhh! ...Fine!" Wuya finally agreed with all reluctance after her defiant spout. "Let's just get this over with!"

**x x x**

"No, no, no - you're doing it all wrong." A strong, Asian-accented voice instructed as a line of dreary and defeated Xiaolin monks stood before him. "It's kick, swing, turn, and then kick. It is not that difficult of a sequence!"

Even the diligent and well-disciplined Master Monk Guan - who, like Chase, had hardly changed in appearance in three years - had found himself growing increasingly frustrated with such poor daily performance of the Xiaolin monks he had so gallantly took leadership over. For weeks it had been like this, and all his efforts seemed to go nowhere. It was disheartening to say the least. But he couldn't give up. The world was at stake and he would not fail in reviving the Xiaolin monks and purging such evil from the world!

"It is rather hot out today..." One monk bleakly observed.

"...I'm thirsty." Another lamented.

"I'm tired... I can't remember a thing from even yesterday." Yet another moaned.

Guan could only sigh at the sorry sight of such results. "Take five, everyone." He wearily instructed. Maybe, he wondered in a brief and fleeting moment of weakness, it really was time for the world to end.

It was in that moment that on one of the large hillsides he spotted something new; a familiar sight walking towards their camp. Brow furrowing and attentive determination quick to return, Guan grabbed his trusty Spear of Guan and headed for the entrance of the camp.

**x x x**

The closer he got to the Xiaolin monk camp, the more anxious Jack began to feel. He'd mentally prepared himself for this last night and even this morning, but the lingering thought of both confrontation and failure couldn't help but taint his confidence.

"H-hey, Wuya... you still there?" He uneasily questioned as the campsite grew larger as he grew closer.

"What do you want now?" A bodiless voice answered beside him.

"This Guan guy... he doesn't like me too much, right?"

"Does _anyone_ like you, Jack?"

"Oh, ha-ha. I'm serious! What if he, like, brutally attacks me or something?"

Wuya gave a hardy laugh. "Hahaha! Now THAT I would love to see!"

Jack blinked through a disquieting apprehensive look. "...I probably should have planned this out better."

As the two finally reached the base of the camp, Jack didn't even need to enter the compound before he was greeted at the entrance, defense obviously the Xiaolin monks' number one resort. And who else to greet him there but Master Monk Guan himself.

The first thing Jack noticed about the man was his black goatee - a new and quite noticeable difference to his clean-shaven appearance of the past. The man stood tall and proud in his black and orange Xiaolin monk robes, Spear of Guan in hand and a more than disgruntled look upon his expression - body built like a true warrior, head still completely shaven despite the goatee and eyes still squinted as ever, making him one of the most difficult men in the world to read.

"H-hi." Was all Jack could manage to squeeze out at that particularly terrifying moment.

"Jack Spicer." The intimidating man stated, eying him curiously. "I haven't seen you for quite some time. Last I was told you had left China and the endless battle for Shen Gong Wu for good. What is it you're doing here now?"

Hmmm. Tell this big spear-wielding super-warrior of his forced conscription into an evil alliance... or take an evil dark-magic warrior's instructions of secrecy and lie through his teeth in making up something else entirely? Either way, he'd likely end up pissing off one lethal warrior or another - be it Chase or Guan - so yeah. Options.

Guan wearing obvious suspicion, Jack fumbled through an ever-indecisive mind. "Um... well... ahh, y-you see..."

"Why, I was just in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop by!" A rather put-on manly, gruff voice answered for him instead.

Jack froze. Oh, yeah. Thanks, Wuya. Thanks so much.

And yet Guan only looked to Jack, suspicion turning to intrigue. "...Is that so?"

Jack quickly nodded. "Y-yeah! I uh, came to see chedder - ahh - I mean Omi. You know... the water guy." This was getting stupider by the second. If he could get by without being killed or thrown out, that'd be swell.

Guan continued to give him a rather probing look. "How very... coincidental." He decided to judge. "And you are not working with the Heylin side?"

"Who? _Me_? Working with THOSE crazy people? Ha-haaa, of course not!" Jack let out with an incredibly nervous laugh. "W-why would I ever work with them?"

Guan had placed a hand to his long, broad chin in thought. "I see." He then nodded, seeming to accept this pathetic display. "Then come. The person you seek will be glad to have a visitor."

The large, sturdy-built man turned and began to walk away into the campground, only expecting Jack to follow, who instead only stood there dumbly, still in shock of not being assaulted in some fabulous way. Yes, it was actually fairly surprising. Sad stuff. He supposed Chase was right about the whole him being seen as 'neutral' thing after all.

"Well? What are you waiting for! Follow him already!" A scratchy voice spouted in harsh whisper beside him. "We must speak to Omi at once!"

"Yeah-yeah, don't rush me!" Jack began his march after Guan, walking through the clearly defeated campground, only able to observe the pitiable state the monks had found themselves in.

A few monks were sitting around a dead campfire, wordless, heads downcast, bodies bandaged head to toe. Another group was throwing listless punches and kicks in uneven sequence at nothing in particular. One was just standing there alone, staring off into space with one of those thousand-yard stares. Two were fighting over a beagle.

"This place is even more depressing then how I used to be." Jack muttered to himself as he continued to follow Guan. "...Wait, that didn't come out right."

Wuya gave a good invisible roll of her eyes, ultimately deciding to keep her flattering remark of Jack still being insurmountably pathetic to herself, if only to preserve cover.

"The monks have seen many hardships since your surrendering defeat and departure." Guan informed, not even bothering to look back to the muttering boy, only continuing to push forward. "What you see before you now is the result of great peril and strife, showcasing the harsh reality that the entire world must soon face."

"Okay, for real, this whole place is starting to seriously bum me out." Jack had to toss out before passions suddenly rose, one small mention having successfully gained his attention. "And just to clarify, I wasn't 'defeated' and I didn't 'surrender'. I quit."

Guan came to a stop at at one of the many tents and turned to Jack with all solemness. "Is there a difference?"

"There's _totally_ a difference!"

Guan seemed wholly unmoved. "Hm. In any case, you are here now. And here, you may find Omi within." Guan gestured to the tent before them, voice suddenly hardening in tone. "I warn you. Omi has seen many harsh and cruel things in his young life, and in some ways he is very different than he was as you knew him before."

"Has he changed that much?" Jack had to wonder. Everyone else he'd seen so far had hardly changed at all. Then again, half the people he knew were ageless immortal beings, so...

"His spirit is in a vulnerable state. He is at what we call a 'crossroads'." Guan answered, a sense of intense direness suddenly crossing the man. "I tell you this because if you bring harm to Omi in any way - if you break his spirit - I will personally destroy you." Within an instant his spear had come three inches from Jack's neck. "Are we clear, city-boy?"

"Crystal!" Jack instantly sputtered out with reflexively raised hands.

Guan held his position there for a good moment, still seeming to study the formal evil villain, before retracting his weapon and giving a curt nod. "I wish you luck then. Hopefully you can do some good for our young Xiaolin Dragon."

Jack watched in a cold sweat as Guan briskly took leave to a different area of the campground. He finally put his hands down and let out a deep, slouching exhale of relief before pursing his lips and giving a quick glare to where an invisible Wuya continued to linger. "Brutally attacked. Called it."

But Wuya seemed absorbed in something else entirely. "Yes! Finally we are able to reach our target!" Her voice gleefully boasted.

Jack straightened himself with as much composure as he could scrape back together. "Yeah, I guess that wasn't so bad." He agreed, finally feeling comfortable again. "...Sort of easy, actually."

A little too easy even. After being defeated so badly, wouldn't team Xiaolin be more defensive than this? You know, more on guard? But what the heck ever, he wasn't complaining. He supposed being seen as neutral really did have its benefits.

Jack looked to the small tent, knowing what lied inside it. "So, I... guess it's time then." He said with taking in another deep breath, knowing confrontation was inevitable and failure wasn't an option, and pulled back the thick entrance flap as he entered the tent...

**x x x**

It was dark and stuffy inside the good-sized tent as surrounding candles brought fourth illumination, the light smoke from burning incense seeping up through the top covering canopy.

"I am in a very deep meditative state and am not to be disturbed." A familiar voice stated, low and serious in tone. "Please leave at once."

There a young boy sat in the middle of the tent, legs crisscrossed in that typical meditative position, hands up, fingers pinched together, eyes closed, surrounded by illuminating candles and the smell of burning incense... and completely upside down, balancing on his large, round head.

"Baldy?" A humored Jack snorted with a huffing laugh. "Man. Some things never change."

After only seconds of comprehension, Omi's eyes shot open, instantly recognizing the familiar voice. Tiny fists jammed into and harshly rubbed said eyes as if trying to disprove a possible illusion from the world of transcending meditation.

But not even Jack could be held as an nothing more than a visionary illusion for long.

"...Jack Spicer?!"

Hearing his name said like that; it instantly brought back a flood of forgotten memory and emotion, nostalgia assuming control. A proud smirk came upon the prior evil genius, gaze upwards with fists employed triumphantly upon his sides. "That's right! It is I - Jack Spicer - your greatest mortal enemy of all - oomph!"

Jack looked down to see a tightly-wrapped Omi bound around his waist.

A certain disembodied head rolled her eyes. "Mortal enemies, huh?" Finally able to reveal herself, Wuya had discarded the Shroud of Shadows as it now lied on the ground.

Jack tried to pry the death-hugging Dragon of Water from himself. "Okay-okay, three-second rule already," He said with a twinge of utter discomfort, far from his comfort zone.

Omi hadn't physically changed much at all, still having his trademark round, bald head and yellow tinted skin color. He had grown a few inches, body elongated slightly - him even having more of a visible neck now - though he was still fairly shorter than Jack, barely reaching his torso. He wore greyish-white Xiaolin monk robes with a light blue sash and small, light blue shoes - the white and light blue colors being quite different from his red and black robes of the past.

Omi finally let go of Jack, looking up to him with a wide grin. "I cannot believe you are here, Jack Spicer!" He said with great enthusiasm. "It has been so very long! I did not think I would ever see you again!"

"Alright, hold up." Jack instantly halted the excited monk. Now things were getting weird. Well... weirder. "First of all, it was waaay too easy getting in here, and now you're actually _glad_ to see me? What gives?"

For real. Omi had always been prone to jumping people with his childlike affection and shamelessly invading everyone's personal space, but this was seriously starting to freak him out a little.

Omi only tilted his head in question. "Why would I not be glad to see you?"

Jack gave an exaggerated, sarcastic shrug. "Oh, I dunno, maybe because we're _enemies_? Good versus evil? Showdowns over the Shen Gong Wu? ...Any of this ringing a bell?"

"Oh, yes. The bell is most definitely rung." Omi said, giving into a sad frown. "But things were not the same after you left. It was... very different."

Jack gave the young monk a rather odd, tentative look. "Uh, riiiight..." He let out with certain doubt, before deciding to change the subject in effort of avoiding yet another apparently depressing tale. "Well anyway, there's a reason I came here."

"To see me?" Omi perked up again with yet another enlarged grin.

"No. Well... yeah."

"We require your assistance, monk!" Wuya instantly butted in, impatience surrounding her.

Omi looked to Wuya as if just now noticing her presence there, a small scowl forming. "Why would I help you, Wuya." He more stated than questioned.

"Because 'the fate of the world depends on it'." Jack dutifully quoted with as much sarcasm as he could afford.

Omi returned his attention to Jack with a questioning look. "It does?"

It seemed they had quite a lot to cover...

**x x x**

"What? You mean the crazy kid actually came back? After all these years?"

Master Monk Guan nodded to his questioning dragon companion. "It seems so." He answered, in deep contemplation on the matter himself. A hand came to his bearded chin in thought. "Isn't it odd though? Just the other day Omi was openly speaking of such... foreign company... and after such a long period of silence."

"Well, guess that's fate for ya." The small dragon creature shrugged in reply, having dealt with the subject all too well in his long lifetime. "Or was it catastrophe...? No-no, it was fate. Definitely fate."

"Perhaps." Guan mused, eying the tent Jack had just entered. "Even so; keep an eye on him, would you? This Spicer boy... He's trouble and certainly not to be trusted. But even I must admit that this occurrence is far too fortuitous to simply be coincidence."

Trust was not in the man's nature; especially in such dark times. But perhaps there was more to this occurrence than even he could see...

**x x x**

"So the shadow monster's purpose is to destroy the world..." Omi recited, looking down in deep thought. "And Chase Young of the Heylin side is the one who secretly sent the both of you here to reunite the Xiaolin Dragons and propose an alliance to defeat the shadow monster once and for all, so that it does _not_ destroy the world."

"You got it." Jack confirmed as he now found himself lazily leaning against a post inside the tent. This was too easy.

"Join us and together that wretched shadow won't stand a chance against our invincible army!" Wuya elaborately - and loudly - added.

Omi only closed his eyes with a deep frown. "I am sorry... I cannot help you."

"What!" Both Jack and Wuya shouted, both taken aback. And here they thought they were actually getting somewhere with everything they'd told him.

"What do you mean you can't help us!" Wuya blustered.

"Yeah, don't you want to get rid of that... evil-shadow-entity-thing?" Jack fervently added.

Omi turned from both Jack and Wuya. "You do not understand...!" He tried his best to explain, eyes shut tightly. "I am no longer a proud Xiaolin warrior or Elemental Dragon! I..." His head hung low. "I am nothing more than a lowly monastery monk... I am not worthy to fight alongside anyone, nor face such a truly evil foe..."

Well this whole shibacle went sour quickly.

And Jack just stood there, stunned by such declaration. Omi, with all of his egotistical tendencies perhaps even surpassing his own, would have been the _last_ person he'd have expected to fall victim to such deep depression and self-doubt. He'd never seen the kid like this before.

"Hey, don't say that!" Jack tried his best to entice, taking a few steps forward. "You're like, one of the most skilled people I know! I bet you can still kick my sorry butt, right?"

But Omi would not be lured so easily. "I am sorry..." He affirmed, shaking his head. "...But there is nothing that I can do to help."

"Would you stop saying that!" Wuya shouted, "Get over yourself and join us already! The world is going to be destroyed for crying out loud!"

"I have already said that I cannot help!" Omi defended, back still turned to the duo.

"But you have to!" Jack persisted.

"NO! I CAN'T! I...!" Omi suddenly halted mid-outburst, sudden awareness having struck. He deflated once more. "...I think that you should go now."

Jack grumbled to himself. Great. It seemed he had no choice. Having heard both Chase and Guan's stupidly depressing renditions of what all had happened in the past, it was painfully obvious what was going on now. And yet something wouldn't let him simply give up and leave. Perhaps he was acting on impulse alone here, but there was absolutely no way he was letting Omi's unforeseen refusal to join them get in the way of him having a life. Plus, this was all just really unusually uncharacteristic and weird and he rather hated it.

"Alright, chrome dome, you wanna play rough, fine." Jack threw out, all cards on the table. "All this is because of that Fung guy, right? Because what went down two and half years ago at the Temple?"

Omi was quick to cover his ears. "No! I do not wish to speak of such things!"

"You think it's your fault he was killed. That you somehow failed the world as a stupid Xiaolin warrior."

"No! Please stop!"

"Jack! Remember what Guan said!" Wuya tried to warn in witnessing such forceful persistence.

"Don't you get it?" Jack finished. "That's even more reason for you to fight!"

With that, all was suddenly quiet, Omi simply standing there with his back still turned to Jack and Wuya.

Wuya looked on in wonder as she floated beside Jack. "...I think you broke him." If Jack seriously broke their very first objective, if she could, she would have strangled him right then and there.

Omi held his silent, unmoving position.

"Look, I don't know the cruddy details or any of that junk," Jack started up again after a moment, knowing he was at least getting somewhere now, for better or worse. "But if you really feel like you failed back then, then isn't that even more of a reason to try and make things right now?"

After a moment of seeming to process such words, Omi turned to look back to Jack with questioning, watery eyes. "You... you truly think that I can help?" He sincerely wondered.

"Are you kidding?" Jack returned a confident smile. "Like I can actually convince those other three losers to come back without you. Come on, cueball, this is your chance of redemption here!"

Omi gave a soft, slow nod. "...Yes." He weakly agreed as a determined look began to sweep back over him. "I have failed once before. And though I can never be forgiven for the past, I can still help make a difference now, for the future. It is... what Master Fung would have wanted."

Uh. Yeah. Close enough.

Omi briskly turned to face Jack and Wuya once more, that determined look now rock-solid. "I will join you, Jack Spicer and Heylin Witch Wuya!" He declared. "I will do what is right and make up for my failings as a Xiaolin warrior by helping you stop the shadow monster that is trying to destroy the world!"

Wuya and Jack exchanged satisfied grins.

Jack having successfully convinced Omi to join them, if she could, she would have kissed him right then and there. "Ah! Finally!" The witch spat with typical impatient exasperation. "Glad that's over!"

And Jack was just as satisfied. His own egocentric motives were entirely selfish and based on personal benefit, no doubt. But looking to Omi now, who only gave a soft smile back, maybe it wasn't so bad helping the kid out a little too. Not that he didn't note clearly still-present issues, which he was so not even going to open that more-trouble-than-it's-worth can of worms. Seemed that Guan guy was right. Despite having hardly changed on the surface, on some deeper level Omi _was_ different from before.

Loud, dramatic crying could then be heard just outside their tent.

"Bawhawhaw! I heard everything!"

Dojo Kanojo Cho, the ancient mystical dragon and official Xiaolin monk guardian simply known as Dojo, had no sooner clumsily emerged into the tent, apparently overcome with emotion.

He wiped a tear from his eye. "That was beautiful, Omi! Coming to your own personal resolution after so long! I'm so proud!" He threw himself upon the young monk with a squeezing hug before pulling out a handkerchief from who knows where and loudly blowing his nose.

"Dojo?" Omi questioned. "You were listening?"

Wuya peered down upon the small, green dragon as well. "You've been out there eavesdropping on us this entire time?!"

Dojo only looked back up to his accuser. "It was a touching moment. I didn't want to interrupt." He explained rather matter-of-factly. "Also Guan's orders."

Dull expressions encircled him, such information being not even close to surprising.

You could hardly say Dojo had changed. He was still your typical age-defying mystical creature who'd seen more days than even he could probably properly recount.

"Anyway," Dojo started again. "I'm here to help! You can count on your old pal Dojo to get the job done!"

"The dragon's gonna help us? Sweet." Jack wasn't beyond a bigger party. He could use all the help he could get here. "But there's sort of a catch. You two can't tell Guan about me working with team Heylin or Chase. Got it?"

"Whoa, whoa there," Dojo immediately interjected. "Guan and I are in a share-all, know-all kind of relationship. There's nothing I keep from the guy!"

"But if you tell him, it'll blow my cover!" Jack was sure to argue. "And he won't let chedderhead come with me!" Not to mention it'd break totally useful contacts with the other Xiaolin monks despite having ONE Xiaolin Dragon on his side, of which they'd be sure to object to, resulting in him NEVER having a normal life again. He turned to Omi. "Come on, tell him!"

"I am sorry, Dojo." Omi said. "But name-tossing Jack is correct. Master Monk Guan and Chase Young are enemies. Master Monk Guan would not listen to Chase Young at this time... And if he knew Jack Spicer was working with him, he would not allow me to accompany him on his journey either."

"Yeah, but..." A quivering lip formed upon the emotional dragon. "...but we share everything!"

"Not a word, lizard!" Wuya was quick to spout. "You'll ruin everything and the entire world will perish!" The entire world she planned to rule over, that was.

"Please, Dojo?" Omi begged. "This is my only chance to redeem myself... I truly wish to make things right..."

Omi's pitifully sad face was just too much to bear.

"Okay-okay!" Dojo finally gave in. "Jeez, give a thousand-year-old dragon a break already."

"And you can't tell Guan or the other monks of my being here either!" Wuya was sure to add. "It will result in the same worldly demise!"

"Sure, yeah, my lips are sealed." Dojo mimicked such, zipping his lips. "But just remember: I'm only doing this for Omi!"

Omi gave his long-time dragon companion a smile and a bow. "Thank you, Dojo."

"Okay, good." Jack said, glad that mess was finally sorted out. "Now for the game plan."

Because yeah. He actually didn't have one.

"Yes!" Wuya sharply agreed, more than ready to resume course. "Our objective is to locate those other three infuriating Xiaolin Dragons and force them to come back with us!"

"Already covered!" Dojo gladly announced. "Well... the first part anyway." Everyone looked to the green dragon as he stood there with a proud pose. "We have to find Kimiko, Raimundo, and Clay, right? Well, lucky for you guys I know precisely where each of them are currently located!"

"You do?!" Omi's eyes widened with excitement of such news.

Wuya only rolled her own eyes. "How convenient."

"Really? Good." Jack threw out, random unknown locations being his number one issue. "Then let's just pick one of them and go. The sooner we get this done the sooner I can get back to my life."

"I am very much looking forward to this adventure we shall soon embark upon!" A newly invigorated Omi said, obviously excited about the idea of being reunited with his friends. "I shall tell Master Monk Guan of our plan at once!" He had no sooner run out of the tent.

"Hey, wait for me!" Dojo slithered after him, leaving Jack and Wuya again to their own.

The pair just stood there in each other's company for a moment within the confines of the tent.

"...That went well." Jack idly commented before forming a proud, swaggering grin. "Hey, one down. Pretty smooth, huh?"

Wuya only gave him an accusing look, ghostly hands on her hips. "Don't get cocky, boy! The mission has only just begun!"

"Yeah-yeah, don't ruin the moment." Jack countered, throwing a certain Shen Gong Wu back over her. "Shroud of Shadows."

"WHA-!"

Indeed. The pair had quite the journey ahead of them...

* * *

And now you might understand why - in v2 - I divided each chapter into parts.  
The chapters as a whole are progressively getting longer as the transition stages come about.  
(As in how they veer off from v1.)  
In future regards, some might be relatively shorter, while others might be just plain massive.  
We shall see!

Other than that, thank you favorite-ers, followers, and reviewers!  
Your support keeps me motivated and makes me feel happy inside. ;3


	10. CH3: Effective Immediately, PT4

**CHAPTER THREE: EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY  
- [_PART 4_] -**

Yeah. I totally added a fourth section to this chapter.  
Tried to fit it into the next chapter, chapter four. Really, I did.  
But I got carried away, it ended up being too big, and that just wasn't going to happen.  
So you get this extra bit instead. Enjoy! (Or don't!)

* * *

The warm embrace of the afternoon had vanished, the still coolness of evening now upon them with the large, setting sun leaving an orange hue across the skyline to overcast the Earth in its final moments of the day. Everything appeared to be outlined with an orange-gold rim, water sparkled and glistened in the atmosphere, and a few Xiaolin monks were already building small fires around the camp in preparation for nightfall.

Not long had passed since Jack and Wuya had entered the Xiaolin monk refugee camp and convinced Omi to join their gallant quest of reuniting the four Xiaolin Dragons for future alliance-forging with the Heylin side in order to defeat the evil shadow monster, Persaeus, and save the world from certain untimely destruction. (deep breath) Now all they had to do was convince the leader of the monks himself to allow such an accommodating journey to actually ensue!

"Absolutely not."

The large, overbearingly intimidating man stood cross-armed, blinding orange sun behind him with outlined shadow as he peered down to the young monk and prior evil genius, one small green dragon cringing off to the sidelines from such a thorough, hardly deliberated answer.

"Master Monk Guan," Omi bowed before the assumed large man. "Please reconsider! Jack Spicer has noble intentions. I have faith in his cause and trust in him completely."

"Looking over the fact that the kid'll trust a car salesman on a Sunday afternoon..." Dojo held to himself on the side, under his breath.

"It is out of the question." Guan asserted, disregarding such remark. He looked to Jack directly. "Your cause does indeed appear noble," A little too noble, he decided to keep to himself. "And there is nothing more the Xiaolin monks could use than the return of the four Elemental Dragons after more than two long years of consistent defeat..."

Jack crossed his fingers, mentally reciting wishful thinking. _"Don't say but, don't say but, don't say but-"_

"But the task in and of itself is impossible." Guan firmly finished, a tense air now over him. "A quest with reason and purpose, but without any hope of succeeding. Simply put, as noble a cause as it is, it is a lost one. It would merely be a waste of time, energy, and resources to try and reunite all four Xiaolin Dragons."

In this moment Dojo seemed to gather a small recollection to himself. He'd been around since the beginning; knew the unseen reasoning behind Guan's instant, unyielding reluctance to allow Omi to at least try to accomplish a task actually meaningful in attempting to save the world contrary to just sitting around meditating all day long. A curious thought for the small dragon to ponder...

"Hey, we have one down, don't we?" Jack was sure to argue before being completely shut down. "That's like... almost halfway there. Yeah..."

Everyone was silent, looking to Jack.

He gave a shrug. "That's all I got."

"This is the end of this discussion." Guan coldly settled, turning away. "We need you here, Omi. I do not want to hear word of this again." With that, the man turned and took his leave.

Huh. Looked like they'd just been completely shut down.

"That... probably could have gone better?" Jack dryly wondered, watching Guan take stern leave.

"No kiddin'." Dojo agreed.

"You FOOL!"

"AHH!" Jack let out a yelp as Wuya's voice suddenly boomed beside him, her still invisible with the Shroud of Shadows. He stuck a finger in his ear, twisting it around. "You didn't have to yell..."

"If we're to align with the monks, we need Guan's support!" The witch harshly reminded him. "Otherwise the entire alliance is pointless!"

"Relax! We can get him on our side _after_ we get the other three xiaolin losers." Jack countered. "Once we have all of them back together, they can convince him to team-up with us themselves. Easy stuff."

"Yes. _Easy stuff_." Wuya mockingly laid in, the venom in her voice seeking victim. "And perhaps you've forgotten that we _can't_ convince the others to join without Omi with us! He was objective number one!"

"Huh... That IS a pretty big set-back..." Jack tapped a finger to his lip. He shrugged. "We'll just go without him?" Man, who knew how sour this could've gone so quickly. "I mean, hey, we don't really have a choice here."

It seemed not anyway. It'd be harder for them to convince the other three Xiaolin Dragons to join their cause without Omi vouching for them, but there was still a small chance it could be done. Order was key, but time was a huge issue. They'd just continue to search until one joined, and then another would join with their help, and the cycle effect would eventually lead to a full group of four. They just needed a starting point. If Omi wasn't going to be that point, then they'd just have to try someone else. Hmm, maybe Clay or Kimiko...

"No." Omi finally spoke up after a long moment of resonating in his own silence, gaining their attention. "...I will accompany you on this journey."

He'd no sooner ran after his master, who hadn't paced himself too far at all.

"Master Monk Guan!" Omi shouted, coming to a stop a few good yards from the man.

Guan stopped and turned his head, looking back as his shadow cast itself over the young and eager monk.

Omi gave a deep bow once more. "With all due respect, Master..." He began in all earnestness. "I _will_ accompany Jack Spicer and... Jack Spicer... on his quest." He straightened back up, determined eyes on Guan. "Please understand! This is something I must do. To redeem myself as a Xiaolin warrior."

Guan stood there, unmoving for a good moment in just staring at Omi with the words he'd offered, before returning his gaze forward, back completely to him. "You shall not." Was his simple reply. "I allow no such thing."

"But... I do not understand! Why?"

"Because _I_ am the one in charge here!" Guan suddenly boomed, now turning fully to face Omi. "_I_ am a Master Monk, _I_ am the elected leader of the currently only standing group of Xiaolin monks left in all of China, and it is _my_ will that will be respected and obeyed!"

Omi was taken aback by such an unexpected outburst of harsh charge, a rather stunned, distraught look upon his face.

"Yeeash," Dojo let out with a cringe, slithering beside Omi. "Listen kid, this is just one of those things you might not wanna challenge ol' Guan on, yeah? Kindda touchy..."

"Return to your tent, Omi, and resume your meditation." Guan ordered before sternly continuing his pace forward in grand departure.

Jack winced ever-so-slightly. "Sooo... That escalated quickly." He commented off to the side, playing audience to the scene. "These people are even crazier than team Heylin."

Seriously. If Guan was this adamant about Omi joining him now, just think what he'd do with him if he knew Chase and the entire Heylin side was involved! Safe to say he'd be a dead man.

"Stop your incessant rambling!" The witch shot back, and Jack could feel her invisible glare upon him. "Are you going to use the Indigo Pyramid or what?"

"Oh yeah. Forgot about the new Wu." Jack pulled out the Indigo Pyramid from his jacket pocket, interested curiosity striking towards such a mysterious new artifact. Chase said it had the ability to change someone's mind, or something like that, right? "We'll just zap Guan with this baby, swipe baldy, and go find those other losers." He decided with a proud air. "Like I said - _easy_."

But as Jack looked back towards what he target would be - one stern Master Monk - his attention was quickly hijacked towards another cause entirely. "Uhh..." Jack raised a leery brow, pointing with a free hand to Omi and the strangely accommodating change of elemental domain. "Is he okay?"

Omi just stood there, shaking with what would seem repressed anger, eyes shut tightly with gritted teeth and hands clinched firmly.

To accompany this change of mood, the calm evening atmosphere was suddenly replaced by thick, gray clouds that covered the skyline, along with the large, setting sun, providing heavy wind and threatening thunderstorm, warm orange hue suddenly replaced by a darkened overcast. Thunder sounded in the distance.

"Ahhh- Omi?" Dojo had to question, backing up a bit.

"No!" Omi shouted with another distant sound of thunder, even making Guan stop again, the wind suddenly picking up. "This is my chance to make up for the past and to help save the world!" Even the ground began to rumble, the uncanny sound of such slowly emerging from the depths of the soil. "This is what I was meant to do! Master Fung would have wanted me to! You cannot stop me! I... _want to see my friends again_!"

Such a rumbling sound was now accompanied by the ground suddenly splitting between Omi and Guan, a small crack at first, though quickly crackling with growth and spreading as a drop-off into the endless black abyss of the earth no sooner emerged, making both parties back up on their respective sides as the entire campground was split in two.

"Whoa! What'd you do, cueball?!" Jack shouted, pocketing the Wu again and backing away.

"It... it was not me...!" Omi shouted back, the insanely deep fissure growing even wider in consuming more land. He moved away as well, Dojo doing the same. "I think it is—"

"A shadow monster attack!" Guan yelled from his side, pointing to a black mass suddenly emerging from the depths of the large fissure.

"Really? We're calling it that now?" Jack questioned in his single, fleeting moment of somberness.

"Kindda catchy, I think." Dojo fed in.

The black mass that had emerged from the expanding crevice grew so large that it towered over the entire compound, peering down to them with its eerily formed red, glowing eyes. It let out a wicked, loudly echoing laugh of pure excited hysteria that vibrated across the land.

And Jack had to admit. It felt oddly familiar.

_**"Ahaha!"**_ An ominous voice sang. _**"So good it is to thrive again! Such passion!"**_

"I won't let you have this place too!" Guan shouted to the black mass from his side, gaining its attention. "I will stop you, evil shadow, here and now!"

_**"Mhmhm... try as you might, Xiaolin fool!"**_ The shadow's amused voice toyed back, dark and sinister in tone. _**"You're only delaying your own inevitable demise!"**_

With that, the immense, clearly evil shadow had no sooner dispersed itself in a sickeningly twisted fashion as smaller entities of the same black mass spiraled in every direction, smaller versions of itself now spread about the entire area.

Not a moment was wasted before they struck out on both ends of the large crevice from which they came with lethal attack in play, their dark, red eyes the only real distinguishable features on their smokey, blob-like bodies.

Guan slashed two shadows in half with his Spear of Guan, and then quickly spun on heel to kick another away and land with a good palm-attack to another as even more began to close in and attack.

Omi and Jack's end of the severed campground was no better off, the shadows chaotically attacking anything in sight, the other monks around the area doing their best to ward off the attack themselves and hold their own. But weeks of ruthless attacks, nonstop training, and self-demoralization had already taken its toll upon the monks, and their weariness showed all too well.

As one shadow lunged for Omi, the young monk's sharp reflexes allowed him to quickly jump, easily dodging the attack. He hadn't landed for half a second before he sprang up again, this time slamming into a stunned, dumbly-standing Jack, tackling him to the ground as two more shadows dove over top of them.

"These are the shadow monster's minions!" Omi shouted, standing over Jack. "They attack often! We are going to have to fight them!"

"What? No way!" Jack immediately rebelled, setting up on his elbows. "I'm not fighting these things!"

"We must!"

"Can't we just hide in a tent?"

Just then an entire tent blew by, the wind having progressed to form a wicked vortex, picking up and tossing many objects around the campground, big and small.

"There goes your ride, kid." Dojo pointed out, slithering up to the two. "Looks like the storm's really rollin' in!"

Jack pulled himself up, both he and Omi now standing back-to-back, Dojo wrapping himself upon Omi's shoulders, as multiple shadows gathered to surround them, glaring at them with those red, evil eyes that seemed to stare into your very soul.

"Um... yeah." Jack raised a hand. "I'm actually not much of a fighter and, uh..." He looked around as even more shadows began to gather around them. "I'm neutral? Please don't kill me!"

Man. He'd really like that Shroud of Shadows back right about now...

"Omi! City-boy! Catch!"

The pair looked over to see a certain ancient artifact thrown their way from Guan's side of the fissure, alongside another of which Jack didn't recognize. Omi caught the unfamiliar artifact while Jack caught the very familiar long, sharp blades himself, latched it on to his left hand, and quickly let the words fly.

"Golden Tiger Claws!"

It was a mass attack in unison with no reservations whatsoever, the horde of shadows surrounding them all making a mad dive for them at once, now covering the center of where they once stood, left to be seen...

**x x x**

Just outside the battle-ridden campground a portal opened - at least two yards in the air, - Jack falling through first and landing face-first with a hard thud to the cold, hard ground, only for Omi to appear next and land on top of him, allowing for a good "oomph!", Dojo the last to fall through, shuffling off to the ground himself with the trio now being a remotely safe distance away.

Jack let out a groan, rubbing his head. "What the heck was that? We were supposed to teleport like a thousand miles away!"

Omi hopped off Jack. "The Shen Gong Wu always do this when shadow monsters appear." He explained, fiercely looking back to the war-torn camp from their distance, the chaos of battle ringing loudly in the near distance. "They are most unpredictable right now. Only the most disciplined and sound-minded of warriors are able to use the Shen Gong Wu properly."

"So true." Wuya commented idly, having again discarded the Shroud of Shadows to the ground, now in plain sight. She gave a shrug, looking to Jack. "Why Chase gave you Shen Gong Wu, I'll never know."

Jack only raised a brow to her, still on the ground. "Where'd you come from all of a sudden?"

"The Wu have gone crazy!" Dojo dramatically elaborated. "They don't always work the way they're supposed to! Kindda like in the Ying-Yang world." He shook his head. "Ya just can't trust 'em like ya used to. Basically, the Wu are unstable and if you're not completely in control of your emotions, who knows what they'll do when you use them. It's like they have minds of their own!"

"Huh..." Jack mused to himself, pulling himself off the ground once more and looking up in thought. "I think I remember Chase saying something about that..."

"YES!" Wuya's loud, obnoxious voice boomed beside him, making him just about jump out of his skin. "He told you to ONLY use the Shen Gong Wu when absolutely necessary!"

"Oh, come on! I was about to be devoured by a mob of evil shadow monsters! Give me a break, woman!" He snatched the Shroud of Shadows discarded on the ground and looked to Omi - or rather, what he was holding in his hand - the thing that was tossed to them alongside the Golden Tiger Claws. "And what's that anyway? A new Wu?"

Omi turned back to face Jack. "Jack Spcier. What other Shen Gong Wu do you have with you?"

Jack paused for a moment, as if studying the question. "Other than this?" He lifted up the Shroud of Shadows ever so slightly. "The Indigo Pyramid and Falcon's Eye. Why?"

"Please. Let me borrow your Falcon's Eye. With it, I can fight back against these shadow monsters."

"NO!" Wuya instantly sputtered, floating in front of Jack. "You will do no such thing! I forbid it!"

"Why?" Jack questioned. "He only wants to borrow it."

"No!"

"And we're kind of in a really bad situation here."

"NO!"

"Sharing and caring?"

"If you hand that Wu over to Omi, Chase will be furious!"

"Yeah, and he'll be even more _furious_ if I die before getting the stupid dragons back together." He walked through her, tongue stuck out with a disgusted look. He pulled the Falcon's Eye out of his pocket and tossed it to Omi. "All yours, baldy."

Omi caught it, and with pulling out the other unfamiliar Wu, gave name to both. "Falcon's Eye! Lion's Ear!" He yelled, slamming the two together with a dramatic clang as a golden light emerged from them, signifying their sudden unity.

The fierce young monk quickly sprang into action just as more shadows had arrived to their location on the outskirts of the campground. Omi was wild and crazy, fighting sporadically yet with the utmost competence and skill. It was hardly easy to keep up with his movements, Omi dodging attack after attack and unleashing his own series of punches and kicks with the help of the two Shen Gong Wu. It would almost seem that he was unbeatable, shadow after shadow dispersing into foggy black mists after being destroyed.

"Oh yeah. You weren't here for the Lion's Ear Showdown." Dojo commented as he, Jack, and Wuya watched the insane scene from the boring sidelines in awe. "The Lion's Ear Shen Gong Wu allows its user to have enhanced hearing. When combined with the Falcon's Eye, all senses are tripled. Nifty, huh?"

"Man, I missed a lot." Jack lamented with typical slouch. He gestured to the still-battling Omi, who was fiercely fighting off shadow after shadow in a circle around them, protecting their group from all sides. "That could be _me_ right now."

"Oh, please. If _you'd_ used both Shen Gong Wu, you wouldn't know what to do with yourself." Wuya opposed, also watching the scene. "You'd probably end up huddling in a corner because you were frightened by being able to hear and see things so vividly."

"What!" Jack's voice rose in pitch. He looked back to Omi's epic fight continuing to encircle them. "You're so full of it. I could totally do that if I wanted to!"

Omi gave a tornado-like spinning triple-kick attack to multiple shadows, tossing them around like toys.

Jack held his frozen position. "...Probably."

Their fleeting moment of victory eventually darkened back into a rather bleak picture, the once all-powerful Omi starting to wear down now. The shadows continued to close in on the group, quickly growing in number and surrounding them.

Completely exhausted after using two unpredictable Wu, the young monk eventually fell back to center-stage alongside the others. "I am sorry..." Omi apologized as the shadows encircled them still. "...I could not defeat them all."

"Yeah, no kidding." Jack said as he, Omi, and Dojo slowly backed up closer and closer together, more and more shadows joining in the fray in gathering around them. "What's up with these things anyway? It's like they never end!" Just how many were there? It was like the more they fought and destroyed, the more showed up! How fair was that!

The shadowy beings surrounding them were growing restless, whatever they were waiting for dying down quickly.

"I am not sure...!" Omi answered, the group able to back up no more. "...This is the most shadow monster minions I have ever seen!"

With Omi having exhausted himself with the Wu and every one else utterly useless, the shadows were ready to strike.

"Looks like that's my cue!" It was in their true moment of desperation and lack of resource that Dojo sought action, suddenly transforming in size to a much larger version of himself; the size of a true, fire-breathing dragon. "Hop on, kids! We're outta here!"

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Jack quickly scurried on top of the long dragon, Omi following suit as Wuya continued to float alongside them.

Without further delay Dojo took to the sky as the shadows riled furiously underneath them.

The air had turned a chilling sort of cool with the stormy breeze picking up, the vortex from before continuing to toss random things in the air. Despite the harshness of wind constantly slapping him in the face and threatening to tear him off of Dojo's backside mid-air, Jack had to say he was pretty thrilled to be alive.

"Hah, sweet - they can't get us from up here!" He gloated as he peered down to the scurrying shadows on the ground. "...Is there a reason we didn't do this before? I mean, if you'd super-sized like, fifteen minutes ago we could've totally bypassed the part where we almost got brutally annihilated back there and... uh..."

Though sporadic in nature, the shadows were far from stupid. They began to pile on top of one another, bodies of black mass merging together, single entity growing in height as tower upon tower of shadow entities emerged, quickly expanding to their height in the sky.

"Does that answer your question!" Dojo threw back, having apparently already been through this crazy routine before. "Hold on!"

The large, green dragon took a steep turn, diving towards the other end of the expanded crevice in the middle of the refugee camp; the apparent spawning-point of the never-ending shadow horde. He weaved through both the shadow towers that were attacking them from the sky and flying debris from the violent, windy vortex until they passed over the crevice that split the entire campground, continuing to the other side as they flew over Guan's position, he and the other monks continuing to combat the shadowy onslaught themselves. It didn't look like they were winning, to put it lightly.

"Master Monk Guan!" Omi shouted down to the monk leader atop Dojo's back, clearly horrified with the scene, memory from two years ago returning. He readied himself, a determined look then setting in. "Do not worry! I will join you in battle!"

"No, Omi!" Guan hastily called back up to them as he swept through shadow after shadow with his trusty Spear of Guan. "You were right! Go! Go and reunite with your friends! The return of the four Xiaolin Dragons is our only hope!"

Omi seemed to question this for a brief moment. "But I-!"

Taking advantage of the warrior's distraction, one shadow suddenly lashed out onto Guan's backside, him giving rise to a sharp cry of pain, Omi giving way to an alarmed gasp.

Guan quickly collected himself. "Do not allow yourself to be distracted by this insignificant battle when a war is at hand!" He continued to shout, now holding his wounded side. "You must be successful in your quest! It is the only way to stop this evil once and for all!"

"I understand, but..." Omi wavered still. "But I cannot just leave you and the others here like this!"

"DOJO!" Guan suddenly negated with turning tactics, out of time with last resort, shadows from the other side of the fissure now spiraling their way in no longer having their own prey to devour.

Dojo shook his head, grasping the command all too well. "Sorry, Omi...!" He hastily apologized before again diving into a steep turn and flying away from the evil-infested compound. "And sorry Guan..." He quietly added to himself.

Guan stood there as he watched the world's only hope disappear in the distance. "It grew faster than I thought..." He held to himself lowly, still clutching his side. "You cannot be defeated here, Omi... In the end, it appears the persistence of fate permits no choice after all."

With the sharp cries from the other monks filling his ears, Guan's attentive fortitude took place once more. He stood a tall stance, readying himself through quick meditation, spear as his medium of spiritual support. Shadows surrounded him while he took to this state, as if patiently waiting.

"I do not plan to fall here today." He voiced to his dark, hostile audience calmly. "There is still much to be done."

The shadow horde surrounding him began their mass assault.

**x x x**

It was quiet for a good, long while as the group flew through the air, having risen beyond the strange and stormy clouds of the lower world, the bright setting sun visible once more. A flock of birds flew alongside them, chirping happily. It was a peaceful ride, considering all.

Wuya was finally allowed to reveal herself in public, Jack was busy trying not to hurl from the 'undulating', and Omi was silent with thought as Dojo carried the three of them farther and farther from the battlefield.

"Ugh... alright. So what the heck _was_ that back there?" Jack finally broke bad with question, having composed himself enough to finally speak up. "'Cause I gotta say, that _really_ sucked."

"It has been like this for a long time now." Omi answered, eyes closed with deep thought. "The shadow monster attacks us often. It does not matter how much we fight... it always comes back."

Jack blinked a few times. "So what? You guys have been fighting like this for three months now?" The thought was hard to grasp.

"Well, not exactly." Dojo chipped in as he sailed across the sky. "It's like this, see. Every time the crazy thing attacks we manage to fend off whatever it throws at us. But it always comes back stronger the next time!" He put a large hand to his head, looking up wearily." Only this time... yeash... don't think it could get much worse than that. Looks like it got a lot stronger since last time."

"We should not have fled." Omi said. "We should have stayed and helped Master Monk Guan and the other Xiaolin monks."

"Too risky, kid." Dojo stood ground. "It's like Guan said: you have your own mission now. If you go down now, we're all doomed."

Omi was still not satisfied. "I know this, but..."

"Why would it attack you guys anyway?" Jack couldn't help but wonder, still full of unanswered, lingering questions. "I mean, it has the Temple or whatever. Why would it want some stupid refugee camp too?"

Both Omi and Dojo were silent.

"Ya know, it's never really said what it's after..." Dojo finally answered. "But I don't think it's the camp itself."

"It has to be the Shen Gong Wu." Omi voiced. "We were able to escape with a few Shen Gong Wu when the shadow monster took over the Xiaolin Temple and trapped them within the vault."

"Yup. And now it wants the rest." Dojo finished. "...Well, that or it just likes tormenting us."

Jack mused over this for a moment. He'd seen the sorry state the monks were in. It was hard to believe that Persaeus or whatever actually saw them as a threat. So what was its reason for attacking them, and so persistent with it too? Was it really the Shen Gong Wu it was after? If that was the case then...

He looked back to Wuya, who was floating in the back, obviously bored with the entire conversation. "What about you guys?" He questioned the witch. "Does the 'evil shadow monster' ever attack team Heylin?"

They had the most Wu, after all.

"Hmph!" Wuya huffed in reply. "Of course not! That wretched shadow knows not to mess with the TRUE evil forces of the world!"

"That or it's already had its fill of devastating the Heylin side." Dojo offered with a grin. "Gotta spread the love, ya know."

"Bite your tongue, lizard!"

"In the case of any," Omi spoke up, his bad western phrasing going unmatched. "We must find Raimundo, Clay, and Kimiko to defeat it!"

"Yeah, that's great and all, Omi." A weary, sore Jack said. "But where do we even start? It's been three years; I don't know where they are!"

"Ah, ah, ah." Dojo scolded, proud smile coming to. "How easily we forget. I know where each of them are, remember! Hmm, let's see here..." He looked down at his hand, counting off on his clawed fingers. "Clay's running his old man's ranch in Texas, Kimiko's helping run the family business in Tokyo, and Raimundo's... somewhere in Rio de Janeiro. Last I heard, anyway." He nodded to himself. "Considering each of their current locations, my dragon instincts say that Clay would be the easiest to start with."

Omi gave way to a smile. "Yes!" He said, suddenly perking up. "Then we will go to the western wilds and find Clay!" He slid the claw-like Shen Gong Wu onto his right arm.

Jack let out a groan, sure to cling to Dojo's back for dear life. "Not again..."

"Golden Tiger Claws!"

Most of the following birds had scattered away in a panicked frenzy, the vibrant hills of China now standing alone as the team flew through yet another opened portal, their destination set and ambition raised high. To Texas it was, to find their lost cowboy companion of so long ago...

**CHAPTER THREE: EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY - END**


	11. CH4: Fear And Loathing In Texas, PT1

**CHAPTER FOUR: FEAR AND LOATHING IN TEXAS**  
**- [_PART 1_] -****  
**

So I'm REALLY going for a three-parter on this one.  
But yeah, you know how reliable I can be sometimes.  
I mean, this is ME we're talking about here.  
But pfffft, who even cares, ON WITH THE SHOW.

* * *

The hot Texas sun beat down upon the dusty homestead below, a certain sturdily-built cowboy sitting upon a trusty brown steed with a long, black main, herding cattle along the fence-line of the great Texas planes, back towards the fruitful grazing fields. He wiped a bit of sweat from his brow and sat back to observe the results of the morning's labor with smiling satisfaction.

"Dinner's gonna be ready in a couple a hours, honey-bear!" A young woman's voice called out from the large, red-painted wooden house. A woman stood there on the front porch, curly blonde hair sitting inside a white bonnet, blue cooking apron worn around her slim, dainty waist.

An eighteen-year-old Clay gave a wave of acknowledgement to the sweet and beautiful southern belle. "Woo-doogie!" He said to himself, patting his stomach with a free hand, the other holding firmly to both reins. "Can't wait fer some a Annabelle's home-cookin'!"

The young cowboy known as Clay Bailey had grown in the vast length of three years. What could easily be perceived as baby fat was now almost entirely replaced by muscle. He was fit and brawny in nature, yet sturdy with average size. Much like his lingo in choice of phrasing and heavy southern accent, his choice of style had hardly changed, brown leather cowboy hat sitting diligently upon his blond, choppy hair, though now accompanied by a small, blond soul patch for facial hair on his chin, hair itself having grown ever-so-slightly to allow mildly longer sideburns, his freckles having almost all but faded. He wore nice-fitting blue jeans with a large Texas belt to strap them on, alongside brown leather cowboy boots and gloves, and a blue and white plaid shirt complemented by a red handkerchief around his neck.

It was a beautiful day with clear, blue skies, a shining yellow sun poking in and out from behind fluffy clouds, and just the right kind of breeze from time to time to give you that extra boost. With this, Clay took a nice, personal moment to sit back on the steed and observe the vast expanse that had become his family's ranch.

Livestock grazed in the fields, dairy cows sat in the cool barn, pigs rolled around in their pens, chickens cooed in their coops, and even vegetation was starting to spout for the season. He'd done all this himself, and with the support of his beautiful wife-to-be. Life couldn't possibly be any better for a cowboy.

It wasn't until the wind had shifted and an uncanny anomaly took place above that Clay's trusty mare flared up, becoming unsettled and restless. "Whoa, girl, hold it now." He calmed the animal, pulling on the reins. With the animal calming, Clay looked up to the beautiful blue sky, shading his eyes from the harsh Texas sun to see for himself what exactly was taking place above.

His pale blue eyes widened ever-so-slightly in witnessing what had just appeared over his homestead.

"Well darn me if that don't look down-right familiar..."

**x x x**

Having successfully warped through the portal the Golden Tiger Claws had provided, the group of four now found themselves not flying through the setting eve of rural China, but over a large southern cattle ranch of the late morning.

"Time zones..." Dojo said to himself, holding his head. "I'll never get used to 'em."

"Clay's cow farm is even bigger than the last time we were here!" Omi said happily, excitedly looking over the many additions to the large homestead below. "And smell that cow farm smell! It is most wondrous!"

"Blehh..." Jack groaned from his end of the still-undulating mystical dragon-ride. "...I'm pretty sure at one point I swore I'd never come here again."

"Must have been the time you declared yourself 'biker queen'." Wuya offered with a shrewd grin.

Jack only gave her a glare. "You even manage ruin the bad moments, don't you?"

Omi's eyes suddenly grew wide as he pointed down to the ground. "Look! I think I see Clay!"

**x x x**

It didn't take Dojo long at all to fly his way in a spiraling circle down to the dusty desert ground, shrinking back to the size of a large lizard as Omi and Jack hopped off. Jack was busy kissing the ground when Clay greeted them, coming their way on foot in having dismounted his mare.

"Well I'll be a blind horse at th' motor derby... if it ain't Omi an' Dojo!"

"Clay!" Omi ran up to his good friend and jumped him in a fierce hug, latched onto his large chest. "You have grown much bigger! Time really spouts wings and takes to the sky!"

Clay laughed, returning the enthusiastic hug. "Yeah, I guess time _does_ fly." He agreed with a wide grin. "You've grown yerself there, lil' pardner!"

Even Dojo now slithered his way up to Clay with a teary eye. "We've missed you, Clay!"

No sooner was the small dragon swooped up too. "Well that's 'cause it's been a coon's age!" Clay said, the three now in none other than a tight group hug. "Gosh-darn if I didn't miss you guys too!"

"The smothering hugs..." Dojo was barely able to squeak out. "...I didn't miss so much."

"Cute." Jack commented dully off to the sidelines, finally gathering himself from turbulence sickness, dusting himself off from such a wild ride.

Clay lifted his hat slightly with a finger and looked to the dark-clad teen, pale blue eyes sparkling with joy from such a reunion with his two friends. "An' if it ain't Jack Spicer! Ain't you a sight fer sore eyes! C'mere, you no-good, dirty snake!"

"Huh?"

And that was all Jack was able to say before being pulled into the friendship circle of forever lost dignity.

Wuya gave a good roll of her eyes. "If I had a stomach, I'd barf."

"Never would'a guessed you guys'd be droppin' by!" Clay said, squeezing the three of them in a gigantic bear-hug. "You've made me happier than Gallagher at a farmers market!"

"Ugh... good to see... you're still with the country-bumpkin analogies..." Jack managed to squeeze out, trying his best to pull away, much like Dojo, to little avail.

Really. Was there a _reason_ Clay was glad to see him too or what.

"It is so very good to see you, Clay-!" Omi chirped out too. "But may we _pleeeease_ be released; it is becoming _veeeery_ hard to breath!"

Clay let go of his assumed prisoners, a deep breath inhaled from each.

Dojo shook his head from its daze-like state. "Is it just me, or did Clay get even stronger?"

Wuya floated around the brawny young man. "My, you HAVE grown..." She observed with interest. "So much more muscle than before... such tone..." The witch sported a wry smile. "How about coming to work for the Heylin side? You would do well working under me as my new puppet!"

"What, I'm not good enough for you now?!" Jack whined in the background.

Clay returned observation of his observer. "Wuya?" He questioned as if just noticing her there. "What's Wuya, evil Heylin witch, doin' here in Texas?" He looked to Jack. "You n' Spicer here t' cause trouble again?" The way it was said sported more whimsy annoyance than taken threat, Clay's matured confidence boasting with Texan pride.

But no. That wasn't why they were there. At least not this time.

"Oh, yes!" Omi spoke up, coming to front. "Clay, things are not well in China! We need you to return with us! The evil shadow monster is back, and it has taken over the Xiaolin Temple, and it is planning to destroy the world!"

"What now?" Clay looked down to the small monk, then to the others as it seemed no one would protest or argue against such dark, foreboding claims. A good, windy pause ensued as such hastened information sank in. The cowboy lowered his head ever-so-slightly, hat shading his eyes. "Yer not talkin' 'bout th' same shadow monster that..." He trailed off.

"...The very same one." Omi bleakly answered.

"Listen, y'all..." Clay spoke up after another short pause, head still lowered. "I'm more than glad t' see everyone again. Truly. But..." He looked to Omi. "But I ain't a Xiaolin Monk anymore. I'm just a regular ol' cowboy runnin' a family ranch."

"That is not true!" Omi was quick to protest. "You are so much more than just that, Clay! And we need your help! We cannot defeat the shadow monster without you!"

Clay only shook his head. "Now _that's_ what ain't true." He weakly argued. "Th' only people that need me now is my family here. I've taken over daddy's farm, see. I'm gonna run it right, and I even got myself a sweetheart I plan t' marry soon."

"You... are going to have a wife?" Omi questioned with wide-eyed amazement.

"Yup." Clay answered. "Annabelle's th' best darned thing that's ever happened t' me. Sorry, but I got a whole new life here, an' I just ain't th' same person I was before..."

Jack felt a creepy wave come over him as he watched the pathetic 'try and convince Clay to join us' scene, only to realize it was Wuya incessantly nudging him. "What!" He questioned in harsh whisper.

"What are you just standing there for!" She scolded in equal tone. "Use the Indigo Pyramid already!"

"Oh. Right."

Jack pulled out the pyramid-shaped Shen Gong Wu. He'd been waiting all day to try this bad baby out! "Indigo Pyramid!" He again gave into whisper, pointing it Clay's direction.

Yeah. He had no idea what he was doing.

Clay instantly perked back up, seeming to have realized something. "Wait a minute... no." He said, thinking even still. "Yeah... no, I AM th' same person."

Omi and Dojo gave hopeful looks. Jack and Wuya gave silent snickers to themselves.

"I'm a terrible Xiaolin warrior an' a failure and'll never be the Xiaolin Dragon of Earth ever again."

Cue horrified looks all-around.

Clay shook his head. "Uh... sorry." He apologized. "I dunno what came over me..." He looked to the group again. "Anyway... Th' whole family's here. Th' girls're cookin' up some dinner fer later on. Y'all can be our guests fer th' evenin'. We can catch up some more then." He turned to take leave. "I still got some work t' do, but you guys can just sit back n' relax 'til the dinner bell."

Wuya gave Jack another good nudge. "You imbecile! You did it wrong! Do it again!"

"Right, right." He pulled out the mysterious Wu again. "Indigo Pyramid!"

Clay stopped in his tracks and twitched a few solid times before rephrasing himself yet again. "Or better yet," He began, giving a wide smile as he turned back to face the group. "Y'all can help with chores! There's all kinds a work that needs t' be done 'round here."

Jack gawked in horror. Wuya slapped a ghostly hand to her face.

**x x x**

"Well shut my mouth... I thought I recognized them crazies out there!"

Clay's younger sister, Jessie Bailey, who'd also grown yet still held her familiar plump figure, looked out the kitchen window with a wide smile.

The girl, seventeen in age, had her blond hair grown out a bit, now shoulder-length and worn in pig-tailed braids. Leather jacket, torn jeans, and biker boots still fit over her for attire, only now accompanied by a rather dastardly black cowboy hat. Though she was plump in nature, she'd put on her own muscle in the time of three long years. She was brawnier than before, yet still a recognizable young woman.

The rugged biker queen turned to the sweet southern belle who'd been standing out on the front porch before, who now held a pallet full of sweet rolls in hand. "Looks like we got ourselves some visitors." Looking back to the new arrivals outside, her brows furrowed ever-so-slightly with suspicion. This wasn't the first time foreign 'visitors' had shown up as of late. They were from the world of magic and other such nonsense, right? She'd certainly had her taste of that herself back in the day. "Whad'ya reckon they're here for, Annabelle?"

"Well lord have mercy, I don't rightly know." The southern belle answered. She gave a sweet smile. "I do hope the darlin's stay for dinner though."

Jessie only gave a humored grunt, looking back to the whimsical girl. "Happy as a dead pig in th' sunshine, ain't ya."

So the damsel was a little air-headed. Her older brother adored her; planned to marry her straight. Jessie owed him big, that was for sure, and whatever made him happy stuck just dandy fine by her. Her gaze turned back to Clay's friends once more. As for _them_, well... she'd just have to keep an eye on them.

**x x x**

"'You did it wrong', she said... 'Use the Indigo Pyramid again', she said."

And here Jack Spicer was, once proud member of society with promising future ahead, now pitchfork in-hand, loading bales of hay from the back end of a tractor to a smelly barn floor.

The hot Texas sun had taken its toll on the leather-toting teen as he stood in the heat-succulent barn, Jack having abandoned the leather jacket he'd been wearing, now exposing his red and white sleeveless undershirt. Even the row of crows watching them from the barn window seemed to be enjoying the scene.

The fiery genius kicked a pile of hay from the platform to the ground with a dirtied leather boot. "I mean, do I LOOK like cowhand material?!" He looked back to Omi, who had apparently ditched out of work and was talking to a cow.

"Oh, Old Bessie, it is good to see you again as well!" The energetic monk chirped, happy as could be in his thin, light-colored Xiaolin monk robes. "And I see you have a little Old Bessie here too! I congratulate you both!"

"Man.._._" Jack let out a dubious exhale, now leaning lazily on the pitchfork. "This day just keeps getting better and better."

"It's all YOUR fault for not using the Shen Gong Wu properly!" Wuya scolded as she floated up beside him.

"I used it just fine!" Jack defended. "It's the stupid Wu that messed up!"

"It's possible." Dojo gave into a shrug, finding himself perched in the loft of the barn. "The Shen Gong Wu HAVE been acting pretty strange lately. Ya know, with the shadow monster and all."

"See? Exactly!" Jack agreed. "And next time someone else can use it; I quit."

Wuya only sustained her accusing glare. "Stop being such an infant and just use it right next time!"

"And when will that be?" Jack challenged. "During redneck dinner?"

Omi perked up, looking back to them. "It is time for dinner?"

"No." Jack answered. "Go back to talking to your cow." He looked back to Dojo and Wuya, seeming to remember something. "But yeah... now that I think about it... you two can't come to dinner."

"What!" Wuya spouted.

"But why not?" Dojo whined.

"Because," Jack explained with simple, candid approach. "Clay might know you guys, but his family doesn't."

Omi had no sooner jumped upon the top of the tractor. "Yes, Jack is most correct in his words." He agreed. "If Clay's family sees the two of you, they might do a freak-out, as Raimundo has often said before."

"Yeah," Jack laid in. "And we wouldn't want to cause any nasty freak-outs, now would we."

"How rude!" Dojo placed his hands on his hips with an accusing look. "It's prejudice, I say! Clay invited us too, you know!"

"We can't risk it." Jack argued. "We need hat-for-brains to come back with us, right? He said his whole family's here. I doubt any of them have seen a talking dragon or evil witch spirit before."

Wuya turned her back to them, ghostly arms folded across her chest. "Hmph! Fine! I didn't want to go to that stupid dinner anyway!"

She really wanted to go to that stupid dinner.

"But it still doesn't help us convince Clay to join us." Dojo was sure to point out. "How're you two gonna do it?"

Jack gave a dull sigh, still leaning on the pitchfork. "Maybe we can just kidnap him."

"No." Omi thoroughly disagreed. "It should be Clay's decision. We will have to convince him somehow."

"Yeah, fine, whatever." Jack threw out carelessly. "Hickbilly-hoedown coming with us or not, I'm done with these stupid haybales!" He tossed the pitchfork aside and leaned back on the remaining haybales on the pallet, fingering his ear. "And what's with that obnoxious ringing sound?"

It sounded like... one of those triangle bell things... How annoying.

The large barn door slid open, Clay now standing there. "Didn't y'all hear th' dinner bell? Food's ready. Let's get y' cleaned up so we can eat." He looked around to the sorry excuse for work they'd accomplished over the past hour.

"...Y'all ain't too good at this farmin' stuff, are ya?"

* * *

Meet young-adult Clay.  
He has a soul patch and it makes me happy.

Something I forgot to say last chapter:  
The Lion's Ear Shen Gong Wu.  
Again courtesy of the trading card game.  
(Originally the "Cat's Ear".)

Other than that...  
Next section: Dinner with the Bailey family!


	12. CH4: Fear And Loathing In Texas, PT2

**CHAPTER FOUR: FEAR AND LOATHING IN TEXAS**  
**- [_PART 2_] -****  
**

Hi, special delivery.  
I had more fun writing this section than what's probably healthy.  
They cannot stop me.

* * *

"Jack! Look at me!" Omi emerged from under the soapy water with a good wad of bubbles surrounding the bottom half of his face. "Because of these bubbles that are on my face, it seems as though I have an old-man beard!"

"Shhh- shut up a minute, chedderhead! I'm on the phone!"

Clay's huge homestead had evolved quite a lot since they'd last seen it, and the household itself was no different. Both Jack and Omi were graciously welcomed into a full indoor bathhouse to clean up before dinner. It was a rather big room with fine wooden floors, sturdy wooden walls, and even a built-in sauna.

Jack certainly had no reservations about taking the hospitable offer anyway, the teen quick to have forked over his filthy clothes to the household residents and jump in the large, indoor western-styled spring to scrub himself clean of the stench of smelly cow-barn. Omi hadn't been far behind, bent on cannon-balling himself into said spring and splashing around like a maniac.

But alas, there were more vital things Jack had to do other than entertain an excitable Xiaolin monk until dinner. Like make a phone call that he'd promised the other day, especially considering that this could very well be his only given opportunity to do so. Stupid time-zones were hard to keep up with when traveling all over the world...

"So tell me," Cindy's intrigued voice could be heard on the other end of his cellular phone. "How's your stay in China faring?"

"Oh. Right. About that..." Jack faltered, rubbing the back of his neck with nothing but a lanky, white towel wrapped around his waist, clothes having been long abandoned. "Funny story. I'm actually in Texas."

"I am an oooold man...! I must talk veeeeery slow...!"

"Texas?" The girl questioned, surprised. "Why are you in Texas?"

"Long story." Jack limply explained. "But I'll be going back to China soon enough. Then come back home... hopefully."

"Oh no! My beard popped!"

"Well that's good." Cindy said. "How long did you say that would be?"

"Ahh, a couple of days, I guess?"

"Who are you talking to?" Omi's round head suddenly popped up from out of nowhere beside him, his curious face invading any assumed personal space.

"None of your business!" Jack harshly whispered his way, covering up the vocalizing part of the phone. "Beat it, cueball!"

"But I would very much like to know!" Omi began reaching for the phone. "Can I talk to this mysterious someone too?"

"No!" He'd no sooner found himself in a game of keep-away.

"Is everything okay, Jack?" Cindy's voice echoed through.

Jack now found himself with one hand holding Omi's head back, the other still holding the towel up around his waist, and the phone uncomfortably lodged between his head and shoulder.

"Yeah, just uh... an annoying little cousin..." He gave Omi a glare, "Being annoying."

"Aww, you never told me you had a younger cousin, Jack!"

"Oh, I didn't?" Jack said, still holding Omi back. "Guess I forgot."

"That you had a cousin?"

"Yeah."

"That's kind of weird."

"It sounds like a girl! Are you talking to a girl, Jack?"

And by this point Jack's eye was excessively twitching. "Okay, that's it - scarred for life or not, you're SO toast."

A knock at the bathhouse door was heard.

"Y'all about done in there?" Clay's voice called out to them on the other side. "Annabell's got yer clothes all washed up n' ready t' go."

"Oh yes, Clay!" Omi happily hopped over to the door, finally leaving Jack in peace. "We are so clean that we are squeaky now!"

"Ugh. Finally!" Jack couldn't help but exclaim as Clay told Omi about dinner and something or another.

"It sounds like you have a pretty lively family." Cindy giggled from her end of the line.

Jack scratched his chin. "Oh? Y-yeah, I guess they kind of are." He observed Clay handing Omi both their clothes from earlier, now clean. "Well, I gotta go. Have more... family stuff to deal with. Call you tomorrow?"

"Of course." Cindy said with a giggle. "I'll look forward to it. Bye, Jack."

"Right... Later." He flipped the phone closed and set it on the bathhouse shelf, making his way back to his newly-cleaned clothes.

Honestly, it was getting easier and easier to talk to Cindy. She was pretty much his only link to normalcy and civilization. Perhaps even his only link to actual sanity.

"We now have our clothes back!" Omi said as Jack approached, holding them up triumphantly. "Would you like to switch clothes for the day?"

Jack snatched his clothes from Omi with his free hand. "Pfft. Been there, done that. Dream on, cheezeball." He then gave into a sniff, the newly harsh scent from his clothes aggressively invading his nostrils. He looked down to the folded wad of chosen attire in his hand. "There a reason my clothes reek of pumpkin spice?"

**x x x**

The early evening was upon them, and after a good day's work and a nice clean-up session, a well-deserved meal now sat before the entire Bailey family and their two welcomed guests. Why Clay's entire family was here Jack had no idea, but he figured it made sense enough. He did have the worst of luck, after all.

Twelve people. Twelve whole people surrounded the large, wooden dinner table tastefully set-up in the dining room of the Bailey household. The old country-style dining room wallpaper had some sort of yellow and green colored images on it. Fruit baskets or something. The drapes for the windows were of a classic red and white plaid design. The floors were wooden with a thick, homey carpet setting underneath the dining table, which was covered with an elegant white tablecloth and more food than adequately countable.

Turkey, pork, chicken, beef, and just about any other kind of meat you could think of took center-stage on the table. Other things like meatloaf, potato salad, corn on the cob, cornbread, grits, and a few other southern-inspired dishes that Jack had no idea what to even attempt to call also littered the long, table-clothed table. Above them swung perhaps the most stunning item in the room: a bonafied farmhouse-edition wagon-wheel'd chandelier, brightly illuminating the entire room alone with its steady glow.

The arrangement was simple enough. Clay's father: Clay Senior took the right head of the table while Clay himself took the left head of the table: the two men of the estate. To Clay Senior's right sat his wife and Clay's mother: Mrs. Bailey, Clay's Aunt Hilda, Clay's sister: Jessie, Jack, and Annabelle. To Clay's right sat his Grandma Lily, Omi, Clay's older cousin: Buford, Clay's younger cousin: Jimmy the Kid, and Clay's Uncle Otis.

Hats and gloves had come off, such things not appropriate for formal dining. It wasn't soon after a small, simple dinner prayer from Annabelle was recited that the entire table found itself in a chaotic yet somehow organized brawl of food-passing, food-grabbing, and food-stuffing goodness. It was loud, more than one conversation overlapping the other from all directions on account of more than one person a party.

While Jack was busy trying to ignore the strange new scent of his clothes, drown out the obnoxiously loud noise of ten different heavily southern-accented Texans, and figure out what all was being dumped on his plate without his consent... Omi was content with stuffing many strange foods he had never seen, heard of, or tried before into his mouth, much to his own delight.

"This gravity-sauce is most delicious, Clay's new wife!" Omi complimented as he poured a greasy, tan-colored liquid all over his corn on the cob, as well as pretty much everything else on his plate.

"Aww, well ain't you a cutie-patootie!" Annabelle blushed with her southern-belle draw, hand batted in front of her, offhandedly showcasing a beautiful diamond ring on her finger. "Boo-boo bear and myself ain't husband and wife just yet though. We've still six months to go!"

"...Boo-boo bear?" Jack held to himself in abysmal wonder. He turned to Clay. "I can't believe you're actually getting married." It came out a little more apathetic than what he'd meant. But man, he couldn't even fathom the idea of marriage! Clay was what, a _year_ older than him?

"Aw, it ain't that hard t' believe, is it?" Clay replied with a smile, holding his wife-to-be's hand as he gazed into her sparkling brown eyes. "Marriage gets everyone someday. I bet even you got someone yer sweet on too, right Jack?"

"Oh, yes!" Omi spoke up with a rather fulfilled smile, continuing to pour more of the sticky, tan goo all over his plate with all contentment. "Jack was talking with his electricity-device not very long ago. And to a _girl_."

Clay's interested gaze hit center. "Oh? That so, Jack?"

Jack's hand covered his face. "No. That is SO not so." He replied before glaring over to Omi directly across from him. "...And that's _gravy_, by the way. You're not supposed to cover your entire plate in it... Moron."

"Aw, shucks." Clay's cousin Buford said from beside Omi with a smile, seeming to enjoy the scene. "Let the little fella have his fun. Gravy ain't gonna do no harm."

Jack lazily rested his head in his hand, elbow on the table with an uncaring look. "Aside from a full-blown heart attack, yeah - no, completely harmless."

No sooner was his arm smacked with a cane from across the table, gaining a loud yelp from Jack as he quickly pulled back in horror-inspired shock, holding his arm as he looked to the most beastly thing he'd ever seen before in his entire life.

"Where're yer manners, sonny!" Shouted none other than Grandma Lily from across the table, sitting on the other side of Omi. "What'd I tell you whipper-snappers 'bout elbows on th' dinner table!"

"Now Grandma Lily," Clay said in a composed and reasonable tone, "These are our _guests_. An' we don't hit our guests with canes, remember?"

"I'll give YOU somethin' ta remember, ya ungrateful little runt!" Grandma Lily fired back in all relentlessness, waving her cane around, even Omi having to duck from being hit. "Don't make me pinch them chubby little cheeks a yours, boy!"

Absolute horror.

"No, Grandma Lily! Anythin' but that!"

**x x x**

"What are they even DOING up there?" An irritable Wuya complained as her and Dojo sat underneath the loud dinner table, concealed via the long, draping tablecloth.

"Having the time of their lives, it sounds like." Dojo said with all envy, Lion's Ear Shen Gong Wu to his ear. He looked down to a fallen spot of gravy on the floor, swiping his finger along it and popping it in his mouth. A visible, dramatic shiver instantly went down his long, lizard-like spine. "Yeash! Talk about a clogged artery!"

"Grrr... this is getting us nowhere!" Wuya continued to rant. "What a complete and utter waste of time!"

**x x x**

"An' so then me n' the girls circled the no-good varmints on our bikes - made a big dust-storm, see - n' lasso'd 'em up like they was no better than pigs in a hog-pin!"

And that concluded the epic tale of Jessie's outlaw roundup adventure. Claps and praise surrounded the table, Omi especially in awe, his eyes wide with wonder from such a fantastic, quixotic story.

"Yes'siree, Jessie's really done good by us since you guys last seen her." Clay said with a proud smile. "She's joined th' side of th' law, usin' her biker-ridin' n' lasso-ropin' skills t' round up any outlaws here in good ol' Texas."

"Riveting." Jack threw out. He decided to poke at the meat loaf some.

"Jessie's th' best!" Clay's eight-year-old cousin, Jimmy, said from his seat. "She's got th' best stories I ever heard!"

"I too am most inspired by your story of heroic villain-gathering, Jessie!" Omi said with great gusto. "It is wonderful that you have forsaken your evil ways and decided to join the forces of good! I do hope that one day Jack will choose to follow this path as well."

Jack spluttered out a bit of water he'd just dared to sip. "Hey-whoa! I'm not evil!"

"But you are not good."

"I'm neutral!"

"But that is not good."

"No, it's neutral!"

"Which is not good."

"What do you want, a halo over my head?!"

Clay let out a good laugh at the bickering duo. "You two're kookier than a sack a rabid weasels!" He said, pale blue eyes lighting up, visible through his hatless, choppy blonde hair. "Gosh, it really is good t' see you guys again."

Both Omi and Jack looked to the cheerful cowboy, then to each other.

"Clay... we did come here for a reason." Omi said with looking back to his long-time friend, a lesser air crossing him.

Clay lowered his head slightly. "I know." He said. "...I heard what y'all said before, an' I know that's why Rai and Kimiko ain't here with ya. But my answer's still th' same. And besides; it ain't proper dinner talk."

"But Clay-!"

A loud dinging sound was heard from the other end of the table, interrupting Omi's desperate pleas and gaining everyone's attention. Clay Senior had stood from his seat, having tapped his glass in a formal manner.

"Everyone here today, family an' friend alike," The large, slightly grayed man began with much pride. "I want ta dedicate this dinner, and our here family reunion, in honor of my one and only son - Clay - and to his honorable proposal in marriage to his beautiful fiancé, Annabelle, a delightful addition to our rock-solid family."

"Jack! You imbecile! What are you doing!"

"Huh?"

Jack looked down to see Wuya floating there off to the side below his seat, having floated through the tablecloth as everyone was busy listening to Clay Senior's pre-wedding felicitation speech.

"Wuya! You're not supposed to be here!" He gave into harsh whisper, looking around nervously. "Are you _trying_ to cause a riot?!"

"...an' so ta commemorate th' occasion, I propose a toast-"

"Hah! A riot is _exactly_ what these delusional people need!" Wuya spat back. "Would you get on with it already! We don't have time for this nonsense!"

"We need Clay to come back no matter what," Dojo reminded Omi on the other side of the table, same tactic at hand. "Otherwise that shadow monster's going to destroy the entire world!"

"Yes, but Clay's evasive maneuvers of conversation-avoiding are most masterful...!" Omi admitted.

"...an' I'd like ta make a toast-"

"Well ya gotta try something, kid! At this rate we'll lose him for good!"

"...an' so I give this toast-"

"I know that!" Jack threw back to Wuya, back on his end. "But it's not that easy. These country people play by a totally different set of rules!"

"You boys got somethin' ta say 'bout this here toast?" Clay Senior questioned the two guests, brow raised.

"Nope!" Jack replied perhaps a bit too instantly, now sitting up straight with an awkward, forced smile. "Just... dropped my napkin!"

"I too have dropped my napkin!" Omi loudly added with a raised finger in the air. "...On the ground! ...Below my seat!"

The table was silent, all looking upon the two strangely-acting guests.

Wuya gave a dramatic roll of her eyes. "Oh for the love of evil everywhere..." She no sooner rushed into Jack, causing the teen to squirm and gag like... a rabid weasel.

"Ahem. And so finally, I'd like ta make this here toast to-"

"FOOLS!" A now possessed Jack abruptly stood up and slammed both fists down on the table, crazy swirly-eyes glaring out from his eye-sockets, his voice overlapped by Wuya's. He pointed a dramatic, accusing finger towards Clay. "Have you ANY idea of what's at stake here?! I demand that you come back with us at once!"

"Well darn me to th' grave if that voice don't sound downright familiar..." Jessie mused to herself beside the possessed Jack, finger to her chin with a probing look.

"I already told ya, Jack..." Clay defended, keeping his composure to the best of his ability and apparently not taking notice of the extreme oddity. "I ain't discussin' that here. It ain't proper dinner talk."

"Proper!" Wuya spat through her assumed puppet. She threw Jack's arms up in exasperation. "This is no time for formalities! The world is about to end!"

As Jack's arms had moved up with all exasperation, one had hit a pepper shaker, smacking it down to the ground, it rolling under the table. Still under the table himself, Dojo got a good whiff of its leaked contents as it rolled beside him.

"Ahh... ahhh... ahhhh..."

He simply couldn't hold it in any longer.

"AHHCHOO!"

"Bless me!" Omi gave an innocent smile with light blush, the table now turned to him again.

"AHHHCHOOO!"

"Bless me!"

"AHHCHOOO-HOO!"

"Bless you."

Omi looked beside him to see Buford give him a skeptical, questioning look. The small monk gave another sheepish smile. "Thank you?"

"AAAAAHHCHOOOO-!"

Dojo had officially sneezed himself out from under the table, rolling past the tablecloth and into the open dining room floor until he'd hit the wall, just under the dining room window.

"What in tarnation!" Uncle Otis blurted out, him and Buford quick to stand from their seats alongside the already-standing Clay Senior, bewildered by such a sight.

"Dojo?" Clay questioned from his seat, looking to his dragon friend. "Thought Omi n' Jack said you was busy with some kindda Xiaolin monk business."

Dojo blinked up at him dumbly from his own position, evidently not having gotten the memo on such a lazily-made excuse for himself. "Ahem. Well. You see, Clay, it's like this-"

"Oh, neat-o, lookie there!" Jimmy stood up in his seat, pointing to Dojo. "A talkin' snake!"

"SNAKE!" Aunt Hilda suddenly shrieked, followed by ear-piercing screaming from both her and Mrs. Bailey.

"Snake?!" Dojo looked around frantically. "Where?!"

"Oh dear!" Annabelle cupped a hand to her mouth, grabbing onto Clay with the other. "A talkin' snake! Get it, honey-bear! Quick, before it bites someone!"

"Snake? Snake!" A clearly senile Grandma Lily roared angrily, again waving her cane around with not being able to see very well. "We don't have no dirty snakes in this house, sonny! Especially no _talkin_' snakes! Th' vial, dirty creatures of th' underworld!"

Uncle Otis, Cousin Buford, and Clay Senior were quick to excuse themselves from the table, each grabbing rather terrifying utensils - Clay Senior having taken his trusty 12-gage shotgun down from above the dining room fireplace - as the three burly men headed for the small, green dragon.

By now Wuya had released Jack, currently floating beside him. The two exchanged rather ominous, almost wincing looks. It was obvious that this wouldn't end any kind of well for poor Dojo.

"Well..." Wuya dimly offered. "He lived a long life."

"Now wait just a darn-pickin' minute, I DO know you!" Jessie said from beside Jack, gaining their attention.

Seeing the new anomaly herself, Annabelle let out her own shriek this time. "Goodness-gracious! There's a ghost now too!"

"GHOST!" Aunt Hilda screamed again, this time before placing a hand over her head and fainting in her seat.

"I told you we should'a had this place blessed!" Mrs. Bailey shouted to her husband as she fanned the fainted Aunt Hilda.

"GHOST?" Grandma Lily waved her cane around again, this time smacking Omi a few good times beside her, him offering a few good 'ow!'s to compliment such. "What's this cursed land come to?! Ancient Indian burial grounds, I'm tellin' ya!"

Jack gave the 'ghost' a rather listless glare. "Smooth move, _Wuya_." With both Dojo and Wuya out in the open now... at this point he just didn't even care anymore.

"Oh whoa, you really _are_ a ghost!" Jimmy said as he waved a hand through Wuya, having come up to their end of the table.

"Wha! Stop that, you wretched little hooligan!" Wuya scolded, looking down to him. "I'm no ghost! I'm—"

"An ancient evil witch spirit." Jessie finished for her with a smile.

Both Wuya and Jack looked to Jessie.

"Hmph. Indeed." Wuya said, summing the girl before her up. "The biker queen, correct? Like your dim-witted brother, you've seemed to have significantly grown as well." She gave another greed-inspired smile. "So how about ditching these ruffians and joining me in my quest to—"

"HEY! GUYS! DID YOU FORGET ABOUT A CERTAIN CUTE AND INCREDIBLY LOVEABLE DRAGON THAT'S ABOUT TO BE SKEWERED?!"

Omi, Jack, Wuya, Jessie, and Clay had returned their attention to Dojo, who had now found himself backed up into a corner with the three large Texan men closing in with their assumed weapons of a baseball-bat, pitchfork, and shotgun.

"No, wait!" Omi yelled, standing up in his seat while still being battered by Grandma Lily. "Ow, ow! You cannot hurt him, Clay's family! Ow! Dojo is our friend!"

But the Bailey family paid Omi no mind.

"H-hey now!" Dojo stammered out, hands raised in defense as he lied with his back to the wall. "Clay's dad! You remember ol' Dojo, don't you? Mystical flying dragon? Showdown for the Star Hinabi?"

Memories of long ago easily overlooked with the chaos of the situation, Clay Senior took nothing from such pleas.

Instead, Uncle Otis slapped the baseball bat in his hand a few good times. "Who wants th' honors?" He questioned Cousin Buford and Clay Senior.

With that, Dojo allowed himself to fill the room with one incredibly high-pitched, over-dramatic scream perhaps even rivaling Jack's... before the wagon-weel'd chandelier flickered off, the dining room growing dark with only the setting late-afternoon sky seeping in through the one dining room window to illuminate their surroundings.

Clay Senior looked up. "What in the-?"

The entire estate began to shake, slow and steady at first, though quickly growing into a violent rumble to the point of mostly everyone having to grab onto something to stabilize themselves.

"What's going on now?!" Jack shouted as he held onto the dinner table, dishes and food rattling and falling onto the floor with a crash. "Earthquake?!"

"...I do not think so." Omi spoke with foreboding tenor.

"Omi's right." Clay agreed, finally snapping out of his apparent daze, though remained in his seat. "That sure as heck don't feel like no earthquake I've ever felt before anyway."

Low, echoing laughter was heard from no direction in particular... building on itself in tone until it alone raddled the wooden household and land, the entire household's lights having evolved from completely off to wildly flickering, the dining room chandelier fiercely swinging from side to side along the ceiling.

And really, only one thing found its way boring into the deep recesses of Jack's mind, him just now recalling the failed use of the Indigo Pyramid that morning as one sentence alone replayed itself in vague memory.

_"The Shen Gong Wu always do this when shadow monsters appear."_

...Just fantastic.

* * *

So yeah. Here's to me being a sporadic updater!

"Been there, done that."  
Courtesy of that one episode where Jack tries to be good,  
And is forced to wear Omi's ridiculously tiny Xiaolin monk clothes in the process.  
Because when I saw that, it just made everything a little better.

Wow. So many fav's and follows... I'm literally, like... whoa right now.  
Thank you so much, you guys! I must be doing something right!  
As for comments, they're absolute love incarnate! So many questions and theories, mmmm.  
I absolutely LOVE to hear what you guys have to say and think about everything.  
Your questions, suspicions, things you hope to see, what you thought about a scene, etc...  
It inspires me to write like you have no idea!

Other than all that...  
Don't get me wrong. I freakin' love gravy.


	13. CH4: Fear And Loathing In Texas, PT3

**CHAPTER FOUR: FEAR AND LOATHING IN TEXAS  
- [_PART 3_] -**

Rofl, this is going to be a long chapter.  
I apparently love tormenting you guys with sporadic lengths too.  
I think I warned you about that back in, like, chapter two or three?  
Yes? No?  
No? Pffffffft.

* * *

Clay instantly stood from his seat, chair falling backwards, the cowboy quick to pick up on the familiar foreboding presence that now accompanied the violent rumbling. "No... It can't be!"

In only an instant it had become undeniably clear that the Bailey family and their esteemed guests were no longer alone in the large dining room of the Bailey household, a more than ominous manifestation stealthily though openly introducing itself to the room with its overbearingly protruding atmosphere of darkness and despair.

_**"Mhmhmhm! Found you!"**_ A single, booming voice sang with shady echo from above.

As everyone looked upwards towards where the mysterious voice had come, they would find that the high-standing ceiling was now completely covered in a dark, swirling blackness, and that upon the blackened ceiling two large, glowing red eyes shot open, peering down to the room full of frightened and confused mortals.

"What in tarnation's goin' on here!" Clay Senior shouted, gaping up at the strange anomaly above the dinner table with his shotgun still in hand.

"Finally! Something interesting happens!" Wuya blustered beside a gaping Jack.

Annabelle grabbed onto Clay's arm, now standing herself. "I'm frightened, honey-bear...! What is that nasty-lookin' thing?"

After initial surprise himself, Omi quickly took voice as he still stood upon his seat. "Stand back, Clay's family!" He bravely commanded before looking up to the ceiling, pointing an accusing finger towards it. "You cannot attack these people, shadow monster! They are innocent!"

_**"Innocent?"**_ The dark ceiling questioned back in reply. _**"Ahahaha! There is no such thing!"**_ Red eyes widened with delight from its find. _**"You cannot escape this time, Xiaolin fiends!"**_

And with that, the room suddenly grew dark as it began to swirl with delirium, darkness seeping from the corners of the wallpapered walls and through the cracks in the wooden floorboards. Slowly the darkness began to merge together in groups, until a handful of decent-sized, smoke-like blobs of black color and very familiar origin began to take form.

_**"Ahahahaha!"**_ The ceiling's sharp laughter echoed as its evil, red eyes disappeared, the larger entity itself now having vanished, leaving the room with nothing but the growing number of smaller shadow creatures that began to form one by one.

"Aaaah- not this again!" Jack lamented with escalating tone as he stood and clung to the dinner table, ground still rumbling, him immediately recognizing the strange creatures from before, along with the ridiculously eerie, bodiless voice that had just so openly spoken to them. "How can it be here too?!"

"I, ah, have to admit here..." Dojo's coy voice offered as he found himself slowly slithering under Clay Senior's legs and back towards under the table while the Bailey family was distracted. "...I'm not complaining too much on this one." Between Clay's terrifying family and the shadow monsters... he'd take the shadow monsters.

Unfortunately, a newly-formed shadow monster slithered out from under the table Dojo had once seen as refuge, giving a good, menacing slash his way. With a loud yelp, the fearless dragon found himself quickly jumping closer to Omi, who had now hopped off of his chair, taking battle stance upon the floor.

"It appears that the shadow monster has followed us..." Omi said, holding his fighting position with Dojo at his side. "We must fight them. For Clay's family's sake!"

"Yeah, you do that." Dojo said, backing away. "I'll ah... just cheer you on from over here. Go get 'em!"

It didn't take long before the once friendly room became a swirl of disarray, the multiplying smaller shadow monsters lashing out and attacking anyone and everyone, no one safe from the indoor battlefield. War came from all directions, shadow monster and Bailey family alike sprawled all over the large, formal dining room in disorderly battle of nothing short of chaos and confusion.

Jessie unwound her lasso, quick to sling it over her head in a looping fashion to gain momentum. "What in Texas' are them ugly things s'pposed ta be?!" She shouted as the red-eyed shadows were apparently fixed on attacking everyone in sight.

"They are shadow monsters and are very evil!" Omi informed as he jumped upon a turned-over chair not too far from the biker queen. "You must help us fight them, Jessie!"

"Yea, I got that much already!" Jessie threw back, no stranger to a straight-up scuffle. "Well come on then, you dirty, no-good vermin!" She let the lasso go, it flying towards a shadow creature and roping around its strange, blob-like body... only for the shadow to partially disintegrate and morph itself around said lasso, seeming to suck the item into itself, gaining a wide-eyed response from the biker queen. "How in the- urgh!" She'd no sooner found herself in a game of tug-of-war with the strange creature through her prized lasso.

Clay was quick to grab his own trusty lasso, alongside his cowboy gloves and hat in the midst of battle. However, seeing his sister's struggles with using a lasso against the strange creatures, Clay had instead grabbed a dining room chair as his weapon of choice, swinging the wooden object around with ease as it crashed into the few shadows coming his way.

"Doggone shadow monsters...!" The cowboy cursed, being all too familiar with the initial, clearly dominant shadow monster and the chaos such an evil creature had bred two and a half years ago. "Ya may be smaller and there may be more of ya... but I ain't lettin' ya hurt my family!" He slammed the chair against yet another oncoming shadow, it flying across the room and splattering on the wall with such force.

"Wahh!" Dojo had barely dodged the splattering shadow monster that had hit the wall right beside him. "Hey, walking dragon over here- ahh!" He ducked as yet another shadow monster was sent his way, again splattering on the wall. The small dragon rubbed his head, rising back up. "...If only my super-sizing wouldn't destroy an entire household."

Meanwhile, Cousin Buford and Uncle Otis were back-to-back on their respective end of the room, whacking away at the shadows with their already-glorified weapons of a baseball bat and pitchfork. Mrs. Bailey was busy swatting a few shadows away herself with a straw broom, Aunt Hilda was similarly batting a frying pan around, and Annabelle took it upon herself to give into heavy scolding, trying her best to preserve what formal tableware was left.

"No fightin' in the dinin' room, y'all!" The southern belle shouted as a few more dishes hit the ground with a crash. "Oh lordy, what a mess!"

"What's all this noisy hubbub!" Grandma Lily lashed out as she still sat in her seat - the only one remaining, - wildly flailing her cane around. "I already told you devilish boys no rough-housin' in th' house! How many times I gotta say it! Take yer shenanigans outside before I swat yer pasty butts with a hick'ry stick!" The senseless shouting of classic old-lady threats didn't cease.

Jimmy the Kid took up the role of great protector of the oblivious elderly woman, dancing around on the once beautifully set-up dinner table as Annabelle continued to collect dishes.

"Don't worry, Grandma Lily!" The boy proudly sang. "I'll protect ya from these blob thingies!" He thusly threw all sorts of food and dining objects at shadow after shadow, though this seemed to annoy the malicious creatures more than anything, their glowing eyes narrowing with growing tension towards the boy.

Having gained their attention, three of the assaulting shadows he'd successfully hit had abandoned their previous targets and banded together in a group assault towards young Jimmy.

In the chaos, a battle-oriented Omi had found himself sprawling into action, attacking multiple shadow monsters himself with his quick wit and agility, though had no sooner spotted trouble on top of the dinner table.

Tiger instincts at work, he quickly dived over and on top of a shadow monster as it was about to attack Jimmy from the rear, smashing it on impact as it disintegrated beneath his feet. In that same instant, the skillful monk had grabbed another attacking shadow by its backside as it passed him to head for its assumed target, its red eyes growing wide with surprise with Omi swirling it around in one rapid swing, leaving it to crash into another oncoming shadow as both flew back and smashed into a wall, also disintegrating. Jimmy had been saved.

"Gravy-boy!" Jimmy said happily, turning to Omi with a wide grin. "You saved me! Thanks, big bro! You wanna throw stuff too?"

"Don't you dare!" Annabelle quickly grabbed a to-be-thrown plate out of the boy's hand. "Goodness, child! This is state of the art, award-winnin' tableware, don't you know!"

"Clay's new wife! Jimmy the Kid! Both of you, please go and hide somewhere safe!" Omi hastily insisted in all seriousness, now standing on the table himself. "These shadow monsters are evil, very powerful creatures that—ahh!"

Omi had no sooner been attacked by two more shadows in retaliation, both having formed some sort of large, horn-like attribute to the tops of their beings. He had barely dodged the tag-team attack, landing back to the wooden floor in wonder of their slightly new appearance.

"Right, so... These guys look kinda different to you from last time?"

Omi looked behind him to see Jack standing there with the Shroud of Shadows in hand, obviously having used it to his own personal advantage in such a terrifying situation. The young monk returned his attention to front, taking time to intently study and observe the scene for the first time. His eyes suddenly widened with the same realization Jack had cultured. "They have... changed!"

Indeed, the shadows seemed to have made a few alterations to their once simple, blob-like forms. Opposed to their artless and bland bodies of previous encounters, each shadow monster now had two large, bull-like horns sticking out of their top halves, right above their red, glowing eyes with a large, golden nose-ring below said eyes.

"Little shadow monsters with bull horns and nose rings..." Jack mused, noticing the irony of the shadows' newly-formed appearance for their current southern-inspired setting. "Okay, so now I've seen everything."

"Their form does not matter!" Omi said as he returned to battle, kicking a charging shadow-bull monster away. "We must protect Clay's family!" He'd no sooner equipped a gold-plated Shen Gong Wu. "Golden Tiger Claws!"

With a quick slash in the air, the teleporting Wu had masterfully ripped open a portal to an unknown location.

"Whoa, what's that crazy thing there!" Jimmy pointed to the anomaly that the Golden Tiger Claws had formed in all amazement, the rest of the Bailey family now noticing such a strange deviation themselves.

"Clay's family!" Omi called out. "You must all jump through this portal! It will take you to safety!"

"I ain't jumpin' into no 'portal'!" Uncle Otis threw back, holding a shadow in place with his pitchfork, the other Bailey family members just as adamant and untrusting of such a mysterious portal.

But Clay was more than familiar with mysterious ancient artifacts and powerful shadow monsters, knowing all too well what had to be done to insure his family's safety.

"It's alright, everyone!" Clay reassured. "Omi's right! Ya just gotta trust me on this one!"

The Bailey family seemed to study this for a moment.

"Well... if Clay says it's alright... then it's alright!" Cousin Buford decided, batting a shadow away with his baseball bat. "Women and children first, I say!"

While Clay Senior was busy helping Mrs. Bailey, Aunt Hilda, and Annabelle into the portal, Omi, Cousin Buford, and Uncle Otis continued to combat the monsters.

Jack just stood there, slouched in pout. "And what about my being teleported to safety needs?"

Finding a break in the battle, Omi landed beside Jack. "Jack Spicer! Allow me to borrow your Falcon's Eye once more so that I may up-speed this butt-kicking process!"

Jack remembered how much more effective Omi's fighting ability had become simply by combining both the Falcon's Eye and Lion's Ear earlier that day. A performance like that was _exactly_ what they needed right now.

And thus, Jack tossed over the Falcon's Eye without a second thought. "You got it, cheeseball; whatever makes these things gone."

Omi caught the Wu, holding both it and his own in the air, clashing them together once more. "Lion's Ear! Falcon's Eye!" He shouted, almost instantly jumping ahead to continue his pursuit of protecting the Bailey family, now more aggressive and effective than ever against the bull-like shadow monsters, leaving a rather useless Jack to do what he did best and just stand there.

"Huh," Jack held to himself, watching Omi devastate the room much like he had back at the Xiaolin refugee camp. "For an annoying bald kid, he really comes in handy when it comes to fighting."

Note to self. Stick with the annoying bald kid to increase chances of survival.

"Jack! Are you _really_ just going to stand there and do nothing!" Wuya scolded as she floated beside the still-standing Jack, ghostly arms raised to the air, incensed enough that he'd handed over their Shen Gong Wu - _again_ - let alone just being generally useless.

Jack pursed his lips with wayward discontentment. "Well, _yeah_." He answered, lifting a certain blanket Shen Gong Wu up. "Why would I get mixed up in this mess when I have... THE SHROUD OF SHADOWS!" And in a blink of an eye, he was gone.

Wuya gave an infuriated cry. "You _coward_! Come back here and fight!"

Two shadows rushed right through Wuya's ranting, ghostly form in their assault on the more relevant members of the escalating battle, the lights continuing to flicker, the ground continuing to rumble, and pandemonium continuing to ensue as the entire dining room turned into a full-blown battleground.

"Grrr..." The irritable witch grumbled to herself. "If I had my body, this would not EVEN be happening right now!"

Still... at least it was interesting.

By now Mrs. Bailey, Aunt Hilda, Grandma Lily, Annabelle, and Jimmy the Kid had all been safely escorted through the portal.

"You too, Jessie!" Clay shouted, crashing his chair into yet another charging shadow monster.

"I ain't no dainty flower, Clay!" Jessie shot back, dodging a charging shadow monster herself. "Heck, I prolly even got more fightin' experience than you!"

"Not with these things, y' don't!" Clay held ground. "Please, Jessie! I need ya t' take care of Annabelle and th' family!"

Jessie grumbled to herself, knowing the job wasn't an easy one. "Aww... awright! Just shut yer big trap about it already!"

As Jessie jumped through the portal, Uncle Otis and Cousin Buford were next in line, now doing the same. Clay Senior was the last in line, having successfully helped everyone through the black and purple rip in space, him now stepping through himself.

"Well hurry it up, son!" The burly man called out, only his upper body poking out of the portal. "Train's leavin' th' station!"

Again underestimated in the area of intelligence, the shadow monsters had been on to the fact that the room's numbers were quickly dwindling for quite some time now, and not wanting their actual targets to escape, it was obvious what they had to do before said targets did just that. They had to destroy the method of escape.

Clay turned just in time to see all of the horned shadows of the room forming a collective strike towards the portal of which his family had used to teleport to safety, his father still halfway in such a mystical gateway.

Instant panic hit. "Daddy, look out!" Clay didn't think twice about jumping to front, taking the hit instead.

"Whoa-nelly!" Clay Senior hollered out, falling back through the other end of the portal as the hole in time and space finally sealed up completely.

The force of the shadows' collective attack was so powerful that Clay had been sent flying into and through the dining room wall, the cowboy now finding himself on the dusty ground, the late afternoon of the outside world greeting him. But the blue sky above was no sooner covered by darkness as shadow monsters began swirling around him in a frenzy.

"Clay!" Omi quickly ran after his friend, now standing in the large, newly-made entrance of the home, otherwise known as a gaping hole in the wall.

The outside world no longer held the happy, sunny atmosphere it once had, storm clouds suddenly rolling in from the distance and wind picking up. A few tumbleweeds blew past, Omi only able to stare ahead in horror.

Jack abandoning his masterful hiding technique, he, Dojo, and Wuya soon arrived to the scene themselves, looking through the large hole in the wall alongside Omi, the sight that greeted them anything but comforting, Clay now smack-dab in the middle of a dark vortex of a shadow monster swarm, every single one of the shadows having left the dining room to participate in such an event.

The sturdy cowboy stood ground in the center of the dark vortex, virtually defenseless and yet with a firm look on his face despite his vulnerable disadvantage. Every now and then one or two horned shadows would make an independent dive for him from the circulating, black vortex, Clay finding himself with a new scratch and with little hope of retaliation or escape.

Even Jack found himself panicking now. "Oh man, he's toast like that!"

For real. If Clay was devoured by a bunch of freaky shadow-blobs, his mission would be ruined, Chase would be pissed, the world would probably end, and he'd be soooo dead.

"Hold on, Clay!" Omi shouted, equipping a much-favored Shen Gong Wu once more. "Golden Tiger Claws!"

With a hardy slash of the teleporting Shen Gong Wu - a surprised Jack recoiling a bit with the thing being suddenly activated right beside him - yet another portal was opened as Omi jumped inside, it closing up behind him, his destination being all too obvious.

Dojo was left biting his nails. "Did they make it?"

"I can't see anything!" Wuya complained.

**x x x**

Omi had landed on the other side of the portal within the dark vortex, instantly spotting Clay.

"Omi!" A surprised Clay turned to him. "Boy am I sure glad t' see you!"

"Yes, but we must hurry!" Omi said in all haste. "Golden Tiger Claws!"

With another slash of the Wu, both Omi and Clay had quickly disappeared from within the vortex, the shadows making their attack with another collective strike as both Omi and Clay had barely missed being completely consumed by the angry horde.

They'd landed on the other side of the second opened portal, both Clay and Omi only able to watch as they now found themselves just outside of what seemed like a shadow monster feeding frenzy, the screeching from the countless shadows sharp in tone, the dark, mysterious beings clearly incensed from having missed their two evasive targets.

It was obvious how aggressive the shadow monsters were, and in seeing this along with their sudden and unexpected return, Clay had to turn to Omi. "Why in all a Texas are shadow monsters _here_, Omi?" He frantically questioned with utmost confusion, holding his prized hat in place on his head with the building violence of the stormy weather rolling in.

"It is as I said before!" Omi tried his best to explain, turning to him. "The shadow monster... it is back! It has taken over the Xiaolin Temple and has been attacking us ever since! I... am sorry, but I believe that it has followed us here in our quest."

Clay just looked to the small Xiaolin monk, as if trying to decipher some sort of underlying meaning.

"Clay, we truly do need you to come back with us!" Omi persisted. "It is going to destroy the world!"

_**"ENOUGH!"**_ A loud voice abruptly boomed, rattling the entire estate. **_"Infuriating Xiaolin Dragons...! This will be your grave!"_**

The dark vortex that had once surrounded Clay now caved in on itself, swirling around until it formed into a dark entity of its own, large in size and single in being, yet its shape could not be deciphered yet.

"Well this don't look good..." Clay offered, both he and Omi watching in awe as the assortment of individual shadow monsters all began to merge together.

**x x x**

Jack continued to stand along the hole in the wall of the devastated dining room, gaping at the sight himself as the weather darkened a peg. Something crazy was definitely about to go down out there. "Oh, great... What now?!"

"It appears that the shadow monsters are all merging together into one single entity." Wuya rather quaintly observed beside him. Her interested approach then dulled significantly. "It would be a magnificent spectacle if it wasn't intent on destroying the world I plan to rule over."

"What a bust!" Dojo complained on his end. "As if the swirling thing wasn't bad enough!"

**x x x**

When the formation of conjoined bull-horned shadow monsters was complete, everyone only able to watch the event from their own standpoint, all that was left was one singular entity: a shadow monster of black mass that reached a little over one story in height, formed in the shape of what could only be perceived as half a man and half a bull.

And like the mythical creature of ancient lore, the dark entity did indeed have the head of a bull and the body of a man, complete with large bull-horns on its head, a golden nose-ring looped among its nose, a flaming mane of fire, fanged teeth protruding from its massive jaw, a long bull-like tail, hooved feet, and to top it all off, a large, two-handed battle-mace sitting in its hands as an assumed weapon. Still with its shadowy identity, the large creature's eyes continued to seep that eerie, evil red color as a dark, black aura emitted from its shadow-like body.

The multiple shadow monsters of before were now gone, and all that remained was one large beast of a shadow...

"What in tarnation..." Clay stood jaw-dropped as he gaped up at the large beast before them, eyes wide as he continued to hold his hat in place from another sudden violent gust of wind. "I ain't never seen a shadow monster like that b'fore!"

"I... have not seen such a shadow monster before either!" Omi agreed, equally surprised.

Clay pulled his hat down low, a small scowl forming as he fell back into battle stance. "Seemed we've been caught with our pants down."

Omi gave a readied look himself, his own battle stance quick to return. "I can assure you that my pants are most secure!"

"Well that's good, 'cause I reckon we're gonna have t' go whole-hog on this one, lil' pardner!"

"...But the hogs are in their pins?"

The newly-formed shadow-creature let out a mighty roar, waving its mace-like weapon around over its head. _**"THIS ONE IS THE MINOTAUR! WARRIOR OF THE LABYRINTH!"**_ It bellowed as its mighty battle-mace came crashing down to the ground where the two readied Xiaolin Dragons stood.

Reflexes at their finest, both Clay and Omi were able to dodge the attack, each leaping to a polar side.

"O, evil and most crafty shadow-monster-cow," Omi presided on his end, having landed on the roof of the chicken coop, many chickens having fluttered away in frenzy. "I will not let you destroy my friend's home, as you plan to destroy the world! I will stop you from doing so, no matter your form!"

The shadowy Minotaur looked to the boasting monk, its flaming mane rising in essence. _**"DESTROY THE WORLD, YOU SAY?"**_ It spoke, largely different in tone from the shadowy voice they'd known before, and seemingly with its own separate personality, though again without so much as having a mouth with which to speak. The creature let out a low chuckle to itself. _**"IS THAT WHAT THEY TOLD YOU? HOW... PREDICTABLE!"**_

With a sudden roaring snort, a fiery blaze had emerged from the shadowy Minotaur's snout, heading directly towards Omi.

"EARTH!" A familiar voice shouted as a large plate of earth suddenly rose up to block such a surprisingly heated attack last-minute, flames spewing every which way.

Coming out of a defensive stance in having braced himself for the worst, Omi turned to his savior, eyes instantly lighting up with inspiration. "Clay...!"

A new wave of emotion seemed to come over Clay as he looked to the newly-formed Minotaur monster. "I dunno why th' shadow monster's back..." The gritty cowboy started, slapping a fist in his hand, a rather firm and resolute look on his face. "But I ain't just gonna sit by n' let it romp all over my ranch!" He turned to Omi with a solid smile. "Come on, pardner! Let's kick some shadow monster butt!"

Omi nodded with full determination. "Yes! Together we can defeat this cow-monster!"

The young monk quickly sprang into action as Clay did the same, Omi jumping on the top of a well sitting in the center of the homestead. "WATER!" He called out, a flood of water rushing out of the well and towards the Minotaur, knocking its massive form back a few feet, its fire-like self seemingly affected by such an element.

**x x x**

"Omi...!" Dojo said to himself as he watched the newly-inspired battle. "You used your element!"

"What, has he not used it in a while or something?" Jack asked as he and Dojo peered around the corner of the small tool shed they'd found refuge behind, watching as both Omi and Clay fearlessly combated the Minotaur monster with their respective Water and Earth elements.

"A while?" Dojo scathingly questioned. "Omi hasn't used a single water technique since Clay, Kimiko, and Raimundo left! Kid went through a serious dry spell."

Jack could honestly say he was surprised to hear that. "What? Seriously?"

He remembered how hard it was to recruit Omi to his cause earlier that day, partly because of Omi's own unwillingness to participate thanks to his stupidly annoying newly-found self-doubt. He'd apparently revoked himself of his Dragon title and refused to use his element again to top it all off. Now _that_ was a depressing story.

"Aha! So _here's_ where you've been hiding!"

Both Jack and Dojo gave into good, hardy screams, quick to cling to each other, sides of faces tightly scrunched together in fear of the oh-so horrible sudden appearance of... Wuya hovering there before them.

"Oh... It's just you." Dojo breathed a sigh of relief before dropping back down to the ground, hands on his hips in lecture. "Give a guy some warning next time, would you!"

"Try being partners with her." Jack slid in.

"I can't believe you two cowards are just going to hide here while a battle for the world is waging right in front of you!"

"Hey, my job is to stay alive, okay." Jack defended. He recoiled slightly in dejected self-sympathy. "...It's actually not been that easy lately..."

Wuya folded her arms across her chest, looking up in all disgust. "Pathetic." She looked down to Dojo next. "And what about you, lizard? What's _your_ excuse?"

"Hey now, no need for name-calling!" Dojo whined. He gestured to the still-ongoing battle both Omi and Clay were fiercely participating in. "It's not like they need our help anyway - look!"

The two assumed Xiaolin Dragons of Earth and Water were each using their elemental ability to combat the fighting force of the raging Minotaur monster. Omi was quick on his feet, able to easily dodge attacks, while Clay would use Omi's detraction to land hard hits and endure attacks for the both of them with defensive technique.

"Hmph," Wuya only huffed to herself as she watched the ongoing battle. "At least _they're_ useful."

**x x x**

"EARTH!" Clay shouted, again stepping in with Omi as a distraction as a huge chunk of earth flew towards the Minotaur... who only punched through said wall of earth with ease as if it were no better than a feeble dirt clot, rock and dust flying every which way.

Clay steadied himself with bewilderment. "Well I'll be dipped in Grandma Lily's jam... that thing's stronger than an ox with a plated belt buckle!"

Object of interest now altered, the Minotaur was ready for its own retaliation of attack, digging its massive hands into the dusty ground and breaking off an even larger chunk of earth - at least three times the size of the earth chunk Clay had provided - hoisting it up over its horned head.

_**"FOOLS! NO ONE OUTMATCHES THE MINOTAUR!"**_ It shouted as it hurled the massive expanse of earth Clay's way with all its might.

The chunk of earth was so immense in size that Clay could only stand there in amazement as the shadow of such an exhibition over top of him grew larger and larger with the attack growing closer and closer.

"Clay! Catch!"

A shiny object thrown his way, Clay snapped out of his temporary awe-struck stupor and caught it, knowing exactly what it was and what to do with such a handy ancient artifact.

"Golden Tiger Claws!"

With a rip in the air, the cowboy quickly threw himself through the opened portal as the chunk of earth hit the ground where he had been standing only seconds before.

The impact of the giant earth mass was so massive that it left an imprint on the ground as it continued to roll and tumble until it eventually hit the turning, old-fashioned windmill, suddenly coming to a halt with the windmill itself snapping in two, it crashing to the ground over top of the large chunk of earth that was so rudely thrown at it.

"Poor windy-mill..." Omi sadly observed, having very much liked the structure on Clay's ranch.

A portal opened beside him, Clay emerging through it. "Phew... Thanks, Omi! That had me sweatin' like a sinner in church!"

"This is no time for church, Clay!" Omi reminded him. "Though our elemental abilities are most useful, we must also use the Shen Gong Wu alongside such abilities to fight the cow-monster!"

"...I think it's called a Minotaur, lil' buddy."

Omi held up his remaining Shen Gong Wu, seeming to all but acknowledge such information. "I have the Lion's Ear and Falcon's Eye! With these and you using the Golden Tiger Claws, I believe that we can defeat the cow-monster!"

Clay stood upright again, having caught his breath. "Well alrighty then." He said, Golden Tiger Claws securely latched to his arm. "How do ya reckon we attack?"

"I will make a bold distraction and attack the cow-monster from the front!" Omi instructed. "And you attack the cow-monster from the be-hind when the cow-monster is attacking me!"

Clay nodded. "You got it, Omi. I'll cover ya!"

The Minotaur let out another fierce roar, shaking its head in frustration, anger seeming to have consumed it from its missed attack. It turned to see its two targets each equipped with artifacts that radiated such a familiar energy, a new wave of emotion suddenly coming over it.

_**"AH-HAH-HAH!"**_ It snorted, such booming laughter shaking the land. _**"I SEE YOU'RE ENJOYING THE USE OF THE SHEN GONG WU! USE THEM AS MUCH AS YOU DESIRE! YOUR FATE IS ALREADY SEALED, XIAOLIN DRAGONS!"**_

Red eyes set upon both Omi and Clay, the Minotaur stomped one of its hooves into the ground, dragging dirt and dust back over and over again as it scarred the soil in premeditated charge, similar to any longhorn bull. And without reserve, it charged head-first for its targets, snout again birthing flame as a wall of fire plated a shield in front of its charging self.

"Golden Tiger Claws!" Clay quickly vanished, leaving Omi to sprint into action.

"Lion's Ear! Falcon's Eye!" The small yet agile monk jumped out of the way of the flaming charge attack.

But instead of continuing to charge ahead and stop as any typical bull would, the large Minotaur instead redirected itself and continued its fiery charge upon Omi, its only remaining target.

Surprised, Omi could only use his enhanced reflexes to dodge the same attack. Again and again the charge ensued, Omi quick to dodge each charge. "The cow-monster...! Is perhaps...! Faster than I once thought...!" He breathlessly admitted between dodges.

"EARTH!" Came a shout from above, both Omi and the Minotaur looking to find Clay riding towards them on a title wave of rocky ground.

Omi gave one final leap out of the way, rolling to the side before coming to a stop. "WATER!" He shouted, a flood of water also thrown into the mix, altered from a small, almost dried-up pond near the muddy hog pin.

The water drenched the shadowy Minotaur, extinguishing its flaming firewall, significantly reducing its flaming mane, and successfully distracting it just as the wave of earth covered it entirely, pressing the creature hard into the ground and burying it deep beneath the soil. As the dust settled, Clay now stood where the raging Minotaur once did.

Silence engulfed the land. No movement or sound was to be found anywhere.

It seemed the battle was finally over...

After a few moments of nothing, Clay offered a smile. He looked to Omi. "Think that sealed the deal, Omi!" He shouted.

Satisfied with their good work, Omi returned a happy thumbs-up.

But the happy moment of victory didn't last, Omi quick to retreat his thumbs-up as he felt the ground begin to rumble beneath him once more.

Celebration came to a halt as joy turned to unease, Clay backing up from his spot atop the earthen grave they'd formed as the rumbling grew more and more violent.

"Don't tell me it's still kickin' after that...!" Clay lamented.

Before anything more could be said, a burst of blazing fire shot out of the ground, a giant entity resurfacing, the shadowy, raging Minotaur from before having broken out of its temporary underground prison completely.

_**"RAHHHHH!"**_ The creature bellowed as it pulled itself back to the surface world, raising its fists to the air. _**"TO CONTAIN THE MIGHTY MINOTAUR IS TO CONTAIN THE IMPOSSIBLE!"**_

Needless to say, it seemed the battle had yet to be won...

* * *

Did I say this chapter would have three parts?  
I meant five. Yeah.  
I mean, Texas it too big for three measly parts, come on.  
(Omg I know I fail guys, just don't kill me ok.)

Oh, and sorry for long updates and all that, blah, I suck, I know.  
Luckily you can expect faster updates now.

Next time via part 4: the conclusion of the battle,  
In which Jack just may actually be useful.


	14. CH4: Fear And Loathing In Texas, PT4

**CHAPTER FOUR: FEAR AND LOATHING IN TEXAS**  
**- [_PART 4_] -****  
**

Oh, come now. You know you love these ridiculously sporadic lengths.  
Prepare yourselves for action, drama, and more obnoxious Minotaur.

* * *

As the mighty beast before the two Xiaolin Dragons roared a fierce cry in having dramatically erupted from its underground imprisonment, Omi looked up to the giant now standing before them - a shadowy creature that represented an unbeatable foe, symbolizing lack of skill and failure of teamwork - odd moment of uneasy memory plaguing his mind...

_"I still can't believe he's actually gone..."_

_"...He gave his life t' save us."_

_"And we couldn't do anything to help him..."_

No sooner did the daydreaming Xiaolin warrior find himself roped around the waist and briskly yanked away as a large, shadowy battle-mace five times as large as him came crashing down upon where he once stood.

_**"NO ONE CAN DEFEAT THE MINOTAUR!"**_ The weapon-wielding Minotaur roared, busy pulling its mace back from the deeply impacted ground.

Now sitting on his rump on the ground a few good meters from the powerful beast, Omi looked up to see Clay above him, who was winding his lasso back up around his hand.

"Ya alright, Omi?" The cowboy questioned.

Omi stood, rubbing his rump, nothing but his pride hurt from being so openly caught off-guard. He looked back to the Minotaur in wonder. "Our attack did not work..."

"Yup. Looks like th' big fella still got some kick to 'em." Clay agreed, looking to their enemy himself. "Thing's downright durable."

Weapon now recovered with one last tug, the Minotaur gave a fiery snort, red eyes narrowing at its prey, a sense of strong desire seeping from its being. _**"NOW IT IS THE MINOTAUR'S TURN!"**_ It shouted, and in an instant its mace was risen to the air as it made charge.

"Yaaah!" Omi shouted as he and Clay barely sprinted out of range of the attack.

**x x x**

"Oh man," Jack gawked from the sidelines, witnessing the grim affair of the still-undefeated Minotaur as he continued to hide behind the wooden tool shed, increasingly harsh weather tossing his red hair around. "We're so dead...!" He couldn't afford to be dead. He still had a life to go back to! "I can't believe this! What's it take to get rid of that thing!"

"More than what we've got, from the looks of it!" Dojo answered with equal suspense, also watching the scene of Omi and Clay dance around a rampaging Minotaur. Next thing he knew, he was uncontrollably vibrating, changing the mood entirely. "Oh- oh boy!" Dojo wavered, bouncing up and down along the ground in unwilling compulsion.

Jack looked down to the vibrating mystic dragon with a raised brow. "What's wrong with him?" He asked, looking to Wuya... only to see her gaping in awe at nothing in particular, giving into an incredibly dramatic gasp that rung an incredibly familiar string of past memory. "Oooooh." Jack gave a rather flaky smile. "I remember this part."

"I sense that a new Shen Gong Wu has revealed itself!" Wuya exclaimed.

"Yeah-yeah, that!" Dojo agreed, bouncing having subsided as he now found impulse to fervently scratch himself. "And boy is it close!"

"A new Shen Gong Wu, huh?" Jack mused to himself in curious wonder. He had to admit, it was odd to feel the old sensation come over him. A sensation of deep interest, false confidence, and vigorous desire. "Well, what it is?"

Wuya's eyes suddenly fired a translucent beam that projected a picture onto the tool shed's outer wooden wall. A picture of a strange, new artifact was now shown, it being a long object of brown and orange color, formed in the shape of two hollowed out and pointed bull horns that were connected at the base, each side sitting at the size of an actual bull horn.

"The Bullhorn Blazer!" Wuya again exclaimed with the utmost enthusiasm. "It has the power to-"

"Hey-hey, now wait just a minute!" Dojo interrupted, everything coming to a halt. He poked his two index fingers together reticently. "...I want to explain what it does."

"I'm already explaining it!" Wuya loudly opposed.

Omi's yelling screams of being pummeled into the ground rung in the near background, tides having apparently been turned for both he and Clay after the Minotaur's great defiance of defeat.

"But you got to show him the picture!" Dojo continued to argue as such a battle continued to wage. "I want to explain how it works!"

Clay's loud screams of being hammered into the wooden fence securing the corn field came next.

"You can present the next one if you're quick enough!" Wuya tried to settle.

The enraged Minotaur echoed over the land with its bellowing roar before charging for another devastating attack.

"No way! You always blab everything before I can even open the scroll!"

"Fine! Let's let Jack decide!" Wuya turned to their assumed mediator. "Jack! Decide which one of us should explain what power the Bullhorn Blazer possesses!"

The brutal sounds of a last-ditch conjoined attack between a retaliating Omi and Clay upon the Minotaur rung throughout the homestead.

"Hmmm. Let's see here..." Jack idly tapped a finger to his lip with thought, secretly enjoying such power of opinion as both Wuya and Dojo's attention were set intently upon his every word.

"Well?!" Wuya insisted in all hastiness.

"You got to show the picture thing, right? So the dragon gets to explain how it works." Jack decided. "That's uh, fair." The final word hung in almost a form of questioning definition.

"What!" Wuya spouted in angered, wide-eyed surprise beside a contently nodding Dojo. "_Fair_?! What kind of evil partner are you?!"

"Neutral, remember?" Jack reminded her, unable to help feeling a small sense of satisfaction from Wuya's typical tirade. Still, he'd better give some sort of excuse before she'd lose it completely. "Look, if we're going into this Xiaolin-Heylin alliance, we're gonna to need to learn to work together. Like a... wicked sweet shadow monster annihilation gang. We can call ourselves... the Shadow League! Or no, wait, the... the Doomsday Shadow Brigade!" Impressed by his own over-imaginative creation, Jack turned back to a now impartial Wuya and Dojo with a proud smirk. "That sounds cool, right?"

He was instead greeted with a small, yellow ball being thrown into the tool shed they'd been so fearlessly hiding behind for so long, completely destroying it in the process as Jack let out a horrified shriek, instantly recoiling.

After shielding his eyes from the explosive demolition of the tool shed, Dojo looked upon what was left of such a structure as the dust began to settle. He instantly perked up with what he saw now lying in the middle of it. "Omi?!"

Omi sat in a pile of splintered wood and an assortment of farming equipment, rubbing his head with a weary look. "The cow-monster... is a very durable opponent indeed..." He dazedly admitted.

No sooner did yet another being fly towards them, Clay now sliding into the area on his stomach, leaving a nice, long trail along the hard desert terrain.

"...Howdy." The cowboy lowly greeted.

"What's wrong with you two!" Wuya scolded, hovering above Omi and Clay with accusation. "You should have defeated that wretched Minotaur by now!"

Clay pulled his sore body from the dusty ground with a grunt. "Gotta admit, fellas... this shadow monster's tougher than a two-dollar steak." He dusted his prized cowboy hat off and placed it back on his head before looking to an assortment of wooden debris. "Aw, shoot. Guess we're gonna have t' fix th' shed too."

"Okay, listen up, guys!" Dojo bounced over to Clay and Omi, enthusiasm striking. "A new Shen Gong Wu has revealed itself! This could be the tide-turner of the game!"

"Oh, is this true?" A suddenly interested Omi hopped out of the rubble that was once the tool shed. "What is it, Dojo?"

"It's the Bullhorn Blazer!" Dojo announced, pulling out a certain magic scroll that revealed an animated picture of a figure holding a conjoined horned object, the figure pointing the object in a random direction.

"It possesses the power to transform into a charging bull!" Wuya suddenly interjected just as, on cue, the figure in the scroll pulled the two horns apart and held them outstretched as a bull took form, charging at the figure's foe.

A single tear came to Dojo's eye.

"Oh! We must find it!" Omi said with sudden passion.

"Just focus on defeating the Minotaur!" Wuya instructed. "Jack and myself will retrieve the Bullhorn Blazer!"

Clay scratched his head. "That really sound like a good idea?" He questioned, looking to Omi. "Last I remember, Jack n' Wuya weren't exactly on th' side a good."

Omi looked up to the skeptical Texan with a firm nod. "Do not worry, Clay! The Xiaolin and Heylin forces are now allies, for we have a common goal! We can trust them!"

"Well alrighty, if ya say so, Omi." Clay easily accepted, though still retained a sliver of suspicion. "I s'ppose th' enemy of my enemy's my friend, after all."

"Alliances 101 from the lone cattle rancher." Jack threw out with typical snide.

"That's really swell, you guys," Dojo came crawling back into the mix. "But just so you know - in case you forgot - THERE'S STILL A MINOTAUR ON THE LOOSE!"

The frantic dragon pointed to a now charging Minotaur, of whom was apparently fed-up with being blatantly ignored.

_**"XIAOLIN FOOLS, YOU SHALL NOT ESCAPE!"**_ The shadowy beast roared as it charged their way, its two-handed mace risen to the air with lethal intent.

It was nothing short of a scramble after that, the Minotaur charging fully through what was left of the tool shed as Omi, Clay, Dojo, and Jack each respectively jumped, dashed, scurried, and flailed in four separate directions.

After its initial charge, the Minotaur came to a skidding halt and shook the lingering debris - as in the remains of the wooden tool shed - from its horned being.

_**"RAHH! FIGHT ME, COWARDS!"**_ It roared even still.

"I'll take ya on, you bull-goose shadow!"

The dark Minotaur turned, glowing red eyes now sitting upon Clay as he stood ground before it in full battle stance, one hand on the lasso at his side, the other holding his hat in place amongst the wind, the nearing stormy weather promising an interesting challenge as thunder sounded in the near distance.

A single tumbleweed blew by between the two.

"I've roped plenty a cattle in my day," The sturdy cowboy boasted, hand twitching at his side, ready to act. "What's one more?"

The cowboy's distracting taunts had successfully irked the giant shadowy monster, the Minotaur roaring with the utmost rage as it charged towards Clay once more.

Clay gave a good stomp to the ground. "EARTH!" He again shouted, a tremor erupting as a large crevice in the earth was formed, a chunk of barren ground rising up and rushing towards the charging beast for a head-on collision.

Having landed on the gated, wooden Bailey Ranch entrance sign that swung wildly in the wind, Omi watched the scene in deeply sustained marvel as lingering memories continued to plague his subconscious.

_"My friends, please do not fight!"_

_"Clay is right... Blaming each other is not what we should be doing right now."_

Surprisingly enough, it would seem that Clay's attack held much more depth to it than a simple head-on assault.

Jumping upon the front of the wave of earth he'd created, Clay had summoned the use of the Golden Tiger Claws to open a portal as both he and his earth attack disappeared within it.

As the Minotaur came to a skidding halt with seeing its foe's sudden disappearance, a portal had opened up behind it as Clay and his earth-based attack reemerged, giving a successful hit to the unsuspecting Minotaur's backside, leaving it stumbling forward as a good chunk of its shadowy body dissipated from such a strike, chunks of earth hammering it down. It provided an openly convenient vantage anyway.

And spotting such an opening, Omi quickly struck with a follow-up attack of his own. He jumped from the entrance sign to the ground, and then upon the eastern fence of the cattle field.

"WATER!" The agile monk shouted, water from the cow troughs below him amassing into a giant water ball, only to be released as it was sent flying into the still-stunned Minotaur, hitting it full-force from the opposing side.

Omi landed back to the ground with ease, determination ablaze.

**x x x**

"The Bullhorn Blazer is close!" Wuya eagerly informed, floating beside Jack as he ran towards the wheat field, both having broken off from the battle in the midst of chaotic fighting. "It is in the area!"

"Yeah, great, fantastic..." Jack's clearly out-of-shape self wheezed out, coming to a stop beside a tractor to catch his breath. He could swear he felt the faint droplets of rain falling down on him.

Leaning on the tractor, he took a couple of deep breaths and looked over to the other side of the homestead to find both Omi and Clay fighting the Minotaur as instructed, both calling out elemental attacks and named Shen Gong Wu. Well, at least they made a decent detraction for him, winning or not. Because yeah, he honestly couldn't even tell...

Breath caught, Jack turned back to Wuya. "Alright, so where is this thing?"

"There is your destination!" Wuya pointed atop the highest point of the entire ranch: the very top of the hay silo beside the red cattle barn. "Go! Go and retrieve the Bullhorn Blazer!"

Jack just stared up at the ridiculously tall, tin silo from his lofty position.

"That's... pretty high."

**x x x**

Dojo watched as Omi and Clay continued to battle the Minotaur monster with all their might, then gave a glance towards Jack and Wuya as they advanced the silo for the new Shen Gong Wu.

A pouting air took place, arms now folded across his chest. "Oh, so I'm the odd man out, now am I?" The vexed dragon said to himself with seeping bitterness. "Weeell, _fine_, I don't mind playing third wheel. Nooo, don't worry about ol' Dojo; only an extremely useful mystical flying dragon that... huh?"

Dojo's typical ranting came to a halt when he spotted a new event entirely taking place not far from the brutally escalating battle and heading straight for such, separate from both the Minotaur battle and the Shen Gong Wu retrieval mission.

"...Oh-no."

**x x x**

The Minotaur had broken free of its daze after Omi's water-based attack._** "YOUR ELEMENTAL ATTRIBUTES MEAN NOTHING TO THE MINOTAUR!" **_It roared, confident rage returning full-force.

"I will make you digest those words, cow-monster!" Omi countered, now coming in for a speedy kick-attack.

The sudden swiftness of the shadowy creature was surprising.

As Omi's attack neared, the raging Minotaur had swung its massive battle-mace around with such speed that the attacking monk had no sooner found himself flying back in the opposing direction, now landing in and thus disappearing within the long-stalked wheat field.

"You'll pay fer that, you-"

Before Clay could get his own retaliating attack in, he'd found himself pummeled to the ground with the same brutal weapon, as if the Minotaur had executed two separate attacks on two different opponents in one swift move, such an attack quickly followed up by a hoofed foot coming to crash down upon its remaining enemy, Clay now pinned to the ground on his backside as the Minotaur sneered above him.

"Grr... doggone Minotaur...!" Clay cursed as he struggled to break free. "Dang-it, I can't get loose!"

The Minotaur could not have been more pleased, nearing thunder growing louder.

**_"YOUR END HAS COME, XIAOLIN DRAGON!"_**

And that's when everything changed.

"Alright, Baileys!" Came a new voice amidst the homestead battlefield; the same direction in which Dojo had witnessed from his own range. "What're we, some kind'a pansies? We're not jus' gonna piddle around n' let Clay n' his kooky friends have all th' fun, are we?! Let's take back our ranch, n' show that there monster what th' Bailey Family's all about!"

Clay was left awe-struck to find none other than his father, Clay Senior, atop a hill near the gated entrance to the ranch, the assorted men of the Bailey family beside him in full tow, all armored with makeshift gear and all giving a rallying battle cry in agreement with Clay Senior's inspirational speech, rivaling that of Braveheart himself.

Behind them stood the women of the family - Mrs. Bailey, Aunt Hilda, Grandma Lily, and Annabelle - of whom were set on cheering for their men with vigorous passion. Well... perhaps all but Grandma Lily.

"You whipper-snappers better clean this mess up a'fore sundown, ya hear me?!" The elderly woman loudly scolded with a waved cane.

"Aw, fiddlesticks." Annabelle voiced next as she witnessed the fluttering chickens scurrying around the ranch. "I reckon it'll take at least half a sunrise to round the chickens back in their coups."

"That nasty thing's already destroyed half th' ranch!" Mrs. Bailey said, hands on her hips. She turned to the men. "Go n' kindly show it out!"

"Darned right!" Uncle Otis agreed, raising a rake in the air. "I ain't just gonna sit around like a bump on a log! An' we ain't goin' nowhere without a fight!"

"That over-sized bull can't kick us off our own property!" Cousin Buford added with his own weapon of a woodcutting axe, getting riled himself. "If we can take on them little shadow-things from b'fore, then what's just one big shadow-thing?"

"I'm gonna show that big cow who's boss!" Even Jimmy pitched in, stepping to front with an equipped sling-shot.

It seemed that despite having been provided a wormhole to the safety of a different location, the strong-willed Bailey family wasn't intent to just idly sit by while a battle waged on their family ranch, nor were they contended with letting Clay combat such a beast of a monster himself.

"Chaaaaarge!" Clay Senior roared with his pitchfork to the air as he, Uncle Otis, Cousin Buford, and Jimmy the Kid all boldly ran down the hillside towards the Minotaur monster that had already destroyed a good portion of their ranch.

"No, Daddy, wait!" Clay tried to intervene, knowing the greater power the Minotaur possessed opposed to the many individual shadow monsters of before. He tried with all his might to break free from his own restraining hold while still being pinned to the ground, until he'd managed to break a much-needed arm free. "Golden Tiger- ugh!"

The teleporting Shen Gong Wu was no sooner swatted off his arm, the object flying off in the distance until it landed somewhere in the vastness of the corn field.

Clay was only able to watch in horror. "Th' Golden Tiger Claws! No!"

_**"FOOLISH XIAOLIN DRAGON!" **_The Wu-swatting Minotaur roared over top of Clay with a snort, still pinning him down with its hoof._** "YOU DISTRACT FAR TOO EASILY!" **_Lifting its two-handed mace up once more, the beast smashed such a weapon into the pinned cowboy, sending the firm-bodied Texan flying as if he were a cricket ball.

"Clay!" Omi shouted, having finally made his way out of the wheat field only to witness his friend crash into the hog pin, obscure subconscious still at work.

_"How can you say that! I am a noble and disciplined Xiaolin warrior!"_

_"I am already the best to have to prove that I am the best!"_

Quick to push such lingering memories aside, Omi hastily made his way over to the dazed and mud-covered Dragon of Earth as pigs frantically scattered everywhere to join the frenzied chickens, the young monk standing on Clay's chest amongst the disrupted hog pin.

"Are you alright, Clay?!" Omi questioned in all worry, shoving a hand in his friend's face. "How many fingers are attached to my hand?!"

"Uhh..." Clay groaned as the delirium in his head began to settle. "...Twelve?"

Omi looked to both of his hands with an incredibly puzzled look from such an answer.

Snapping out of his daze, Clay instantly sat up in seeming to remember their dire situation, only to see that his father, uncle, and two cousins were headed straight for all-out battle with the Minotaur monster that he and Omi themselves were struggling so much with.

"Guys!" The cowboy instantly slashed at the air. "Golden Tiger-" He looked to his arm, minus one Golden Tiger Claws. "Aw, dang-it! I forgot!"

Nothing could stop the incensed Baileys, who were more than fed up with their home being invaded, their family attacked, and their land devastated.

And Clay could only watch as, one by one, they fell.

Cousin Buford got a few good swings of his axe in before he was stomped into the ground, just as Uncle Otis was simultaneously pummeled into a barb-wired fence after having jabbed his rake into nothingness. Attacking with a revenge-strike with his pitchfork, Clay Senior was readily flung into the already-demolished windmill while Jimmy the Kid was whipped aside by the Minotaur's tail like a rag doll after shooting rocks at it with his sling-shot.

And yet, despite the ease to which they were discarded, all four men had come back for a second helping.

"Come on, men!" Clay Senior continued to inspire. "Put yer backs into it! We ain't goin' down without a fight!"

If nothing else, their numbers proved useful, for as one Bailey was beaten or sent flying away, another was able to make attack from a different angle. Bits of the shadowy Minotaur dissipated with each landed attack and if only it could last, it would appear that eventually the Minotaur would finally be no more.

But alas, the Bailey men were quickly wearing down after taking so much damage themselves, and motivational battle cries could only push them so far.

_**"YOU INTERFERE WITH THE MINOTAUR'S PURPOSE!"**_ The increasingly annoyed Minotaur roared. _**"BEGONE, INFURIATING PESTS!"**_

Enraged, the monster's fiery mane grew larger with heated flame, bent on finishing the battle with its four assailants in one final fiery attack.

Beaten, weary, and delirious from each being pummeled into submission more than once, the four men hadn't a chance in the world to escape such a monster in its blind rage, and yet they all stood ground as if they could.

"Looks like this's it, fellas..." Uncle Otis said, barely able to stand. "It's been an honor."

Taking a deep breath in, the Minotaur let lose upon the area a blazing inferno of snorted fire. But before such a final strike could consume them, a whooshing gust of wind blew by, and as the flames receded, before the Minotaur's eyes its targets had vanished...

**x x x**

"What the...? How th' heck did we get all th' way up here!" Uncle Otis shouted as the entire cattle ranch flew by him from a strangely new bird's-eye point of view.

"You're welcome!" A now super-sized Dojo replied as he carried the four Bailey family members on his back, gracefully flying through the murky, stormy sky, light drizzling rain now falling upon the earth.

"It's th' talkin' snake!" Jimmy exclaimed with a large smile.

"Well, I'll be." Cousin Buford held to himself, adjusting his own cowboy hat. "Th' snake grew bigger an' can fly!"

"And it saved us!" Jimmy added.

"Ha-ha... yeah." Dojo said with an uneasy laugh. "Talk about irony, right? I mean, you guys being all for sending me to dragon heaven back there and hah, yeah, let's not talk about that, it's making me uncomfortable again..."

Clay Senior remained silent, seeming to take lead as the most surprised. "Why'd ya save us?" The burly man had to wonder as he sat in the rear on the snake-like creature he was so very bent on killing before.

"Hey, come on, give a mystical dragon some credit here!" Dojo retorted with slight indignation. "I may be a cold-hearted snake every now and again, sure," A knowing smile formed as they soared further away from the battlefield. "But no way would I just sit back and watch Clay's family be charred by some crazy shadow monster."

**x x x**

Back on the ground, Clay was more than relieved to see his family whisked to safety.

"Thanks, Dojo..." The cowboy said quietly to himself, knowing that his dragon friend must have still had mixed feelings towards his family for trying to... well, all-out kill him earlier.

"Don't forget about us now!" Called out a new yet familiar voice over-top the loud noise of four loud, rumbling machines.

Clay looked out in the distance as Omi pulled him to his feet from the muddy, wet ground of the hog-pin. "That sounds like..."

It was there that the three loyal members consisting of Jessie's biker gang - one with bright red hair, one tall and lanky, and one with a rather derpy expression - rode into the battlefield on three separate motorcycles that took the similar appearance of dark-green snakes.

Or rather, _vipers_.

The three motorcycles parted ways to make room for a fourth as Jessie herself rode up the middle, the biker queen and her posse fully equipped in their biker gear, ready for battle.

"The Black Vipers!" Omi gasped as he and Clay still lingered in the hog pin.

"Darned right!" Jessie swanked, pointing a finger at the Minotaur. "Better watch out, ya over-sized bull, 'cause th' Black Vipers don't show no mercy ta _any_ dirty villain here in Texas!"

Bikes revved, the Black Vipers picked up speed, tearing across the land and leaving a dust cloud behind them as they charged for their new and rather large target.

"Yeeeee-haw!" Each member hollered out in their own tune.

"Alright, girls!" Jessie commanded as they neared the battlefield. "Formation Cattle-Ropin'!"

Jessie picked up a burst of speed, tearing past her followers before jumping off her bike, feet landing with a skidding halt to the ground and sturdy body bearing weight down with anchor as her motorcycle continued to speed forward towards the Minotaur.

_**"YOUR FEEBLE TOYS CANNOT HARM THE MINOTAUR!"**_ The Minotaur roared, easily swatting the loud machine away with a powerful swing of its arm.

**x x x**

"You sure there's a Shen Gong Wu up here?" Jack had to ask as he climbed the silo, rung after rung of the incredibly long ladder attached to it going by with each step.

By now he was halfway there, but the drizzling rain had picked up, as had the wind, and yeah, it wasn't exactly _easy_ climbing up this stupid thing in these conditions, his hair and clothing continuing to slave themselves to the weather, leather Jacket his only real save at this point.

"Of course I'm sure!" Wuya confirmed with taken insult. "When have I ever misguided you?"

"It's just been a while, okay. Just making sure you, you know... still have it."

"Still have what?" A probing Wuya questioned.

"Your... touch?"

Wuya suddenly stopped, inertly floating there with a blank look as Jack continued to climb. Sudden ferocity then hit. "My _touch_?! To find _Shen Gong Wu_?! It's only been three years!"

"Yeah, that's a long time."

"For your pathetic kind, perhaps." Wuya laid in, continuing to follow Jack now. "I've lived for _hundreds_ of years! Three years means absolutely nothing to me!"

"Okay, okay already, sheesh!" Jack had to settle. "Sorry I asked!"

"Hmph. You annoying humans and your absurd questions." Wuya continued to rant. She then spotted something a little off in the distance, stopping again. "Oh. And watch out, by the way."

"What?"

Before Jack knew it, a motorcycle had come flying his way, crashing into the silo he had been so diligently climbing for the sake of the entire world.

He'd managed to get out a rather loud, high-pitched scream before the ladder underneath him split in two, the lower half crumbling away from the hit, Jack now finding his lower half scrunched up in recoiled fear of finding that he'd apparently passed the point of no return, up being the only way to go now.

He looked back down to find the ladder below him gone, a fairly decent explosion taking place upon the ground from the impact of the fully-fueled motorcycle, which now laid in the wheat field as said field quickly caught fire.

"Huh..." Jack gulped, looking to the now flaming wheat field. "That... could have been pretty bad."

"Yes. Lucky you." Wuya fed in with little care.

"Hey, you'd be really sad if I was crushed by a flying motorcycle." Jack challenged with typical whine.

"Only sad that I couldn't crush you myself." Wuya countered, gaining a pouting glare from Jack. She rolled her eyes. "Just keep climbing!"

**x x x  
**

"Do not worry, Clay!" Omi shouted as he stood atop the fence encasing the torched wheat field. "I will save your field of grainy grasses!"

And thus, the Dragon of Water had found himself on firefighting duty, using his elemental ability to combat the growing fire that was quickly consuming the wheat field, rain continuing to bend with the forceful wind to aid in the task.

Clay watched as Omi attempted to save his cattle ranch's primary food source, though quickly returned his attention to Jessie and her attacking Black Vipers.

As it turns out, Jessie's motorcycle was a planned distraction, the three remaining biker girls kicking it into high gear themselves, regaining speed as all three passed Jessie and circled the Minotaur as if they were a group of hungry sharks circling prey in the ocean, enthusiastic hoots and hollers thrown out as the Minotaur continued to spin around, trying to focus on one object at a time, Jessie standing off to the side with a proud stance.

"Jessie, ya were supposed t' look after th' family!" Clay shouted to his sister from his distance, through the rain.

"The girls're fine, you worry-wart!" Jessie shouted back. "But you've got yer head up th' south end of a north-bound mule if ya think me and th' boys ain't gonna do somethin' about this here scuttle!"

"No, Jessie, ya don't know th' power that thing has! Ah..." He held his right arm, pain suddenly demanding notice.

"Oh, stop yer worryin', Clay." Jessie reassured him with a grin, sure to note her injured brother's status. "You just sit there n' look pretty while we take care a this varmint!"

Like for the rest of the Bailey family, doing nothing to contribute battling the strange monster and retaking the ranch was out of the question for Jessie. But the biker queen also had her own rooted reasons for wanting to support her brother and family, two things that she hadn't always had upright opinions of. If it wasn't for Clay coming to her aid in a certain situation, Jessie wouldn't even be in the good-standing position she was now, and the family had accepted her back with full welcome. She owed all of them by a long haul.

Jessie returned her attention back to her three loyal gang members' progress. In the midst of battle, lassos were drawn from each of the three biker girls as they continued to encircle the confused shadow creature that attempted to follow each of their paths, those same three lassos just as easily thrown and bound around the Minotaur's large form.

With each girl still circling the large creature, the rope grew thicker and thicker in layer the more they drove, and when their lassos' length had run dry, they each came to a skidding halt, dust settling around them and mixing with the light rain.

_**"YOU CANNOT HOLD THE MINOTAUR!"**_ The beast roared again as the dust cleared, snorting fire all around itself in a frenzy with its arms and weapon bound within thick layers of rope. And yet, the rope that bound it would not burn...

A fourth lasso was thrown its way, roping one of the bull horns on the Minotaur's head and jerking its head forward, the shadow's attention quickly snapping to front as its red eyes laid upon the culprit: a strong-standing young woman known as the fearless leader of the Black Vipers.

"Well, well. Not so tough now, are we?" Jessie boasted, keeping her tight grip on her own lasso. "That's what happens when ya mess with th' Black Vipers! These here lassos 're different from last time, don'tcha know!"

Indeed. Instead of typical rope, Jessie and her gang had instead coated their lassos with a layer of liquid rubber, completely resistant to the creature's flaming attacks, as the Minotaur had found out for itself.

With this realization, the Minotaur's flaming snorts had stopped, though its thrashing about did not. _**"THE MINOTAUR DOES NOT HAVE TIME TO WASTE WITH YOU!"**_ It continued to roar, also continuing its game of tug-of-war from four different directions.

"Yeah, well we certainly got time ta waste YOU!" Jessie threw back, pulling out a strange object. "Wings of Tinabi!"

As summoned, the favored Shen Gong Wu that Jessie had been safe-keeping for quite some time had activated, opening its wing-like sides and taking Jessie up towards the murky, grayed sky with a deposited rainbow trail. Still holding her coated lasso and continuing to rise in the air, the other three biker girls released their hold on their own lassos with hardy smirks as the Minotaur began to rise as well.

"Time fer ya ta say goodnight, ya overgrown longhorn!" Jessie said, swirling around in a circle as she gripped her lasso, the Minotaur below now swinging around itself.

"I can't believe she's actually doin' it..." Clay held to himself with surprise, watching Jessie's plan of attack with genuine amazement.

"Your sister is most amazing, Clay!" Omi said as he continued to combat the flaming wheat field, watching the battle himself.

With momentum at its peak, Jessie had released her lasso, the tied-up Minotaur flying across the homestead until it crashed into the nearby cliff-side, rock and rubble coming down on top of it.

Nothing moved for quite some time. It would seem that Formation Cattle-Ropin' was a success.

Jessie let out a haughty snort. "Hah! And that's how it's done!" She boasted, high-fives and cheers shouted below her from her three rowdy subordinates.

"Jessie, look out!"

"Eh?" As Jessie looked below from her brother's shouting, a truly terrifying sight was to be seen. "What in the-?!"

In the very center of the ground team consisting of the three biker girls rose a dark being from an equally dark pool of seeping blackness, and before they knew it, the very monster in which they had just thrown across the entire homestead was back, standing before them just as massive and powerful as before, only this time unbound and perhaps a tiny bit more... was _enraged_ the word?

_**"YOU SHALL PAY FOR YOUR INTERFERENCE!"**_ The beast roared, its battle-mace slamming into the stunned red-headed biker girl first, sending her and her bike tumbling across the desert plains. Sure not to miss its backside, a powerful tail lashed out at the tall, lanky biker girl behind him next, while spinning around in that same instant to give a kick of its hoofed foot to the derpy-looking biker girl, both flying off in their own respective directions.

"Girls!" Jessie hollered out from above, watching each of her loyal followers go down.

All three of Jessie's gang members now incapacitated, the Minotaur again set its evil eyes upon its remaining target: Jessie.

"Darn it!" Jessie cursed, quick to retreat with the Wings of Tinabi.

But not even the flying Shen Gong Wu could help Jessie now.

Before the biker queen could successfully retreat, a long and dark substance shot out from the Minotaur's shadowy form toward her, wrapping itself around the flying Jessie with enough time for her to realize it was her own trusty lasso now laced with a black, shadowy layer of the Minotaur's own design. Apparently the shadow had absorbed all of their lassos, just like last time...

The shadowy rope that had emerged from the Minotaur's body no sooner retracted with extreme speed, Jessie quickly pulled down to the Minotaur as the beast issued its final blow, giving a firm headbutt of its horned head to Jessie as she was sent soaring through the sky.

Clay only looked on in horror, his shouted warning to his sister having been far from successful as the Minotaur continued to rampage around, snorting fire into the air with gloating victory. It did, however, bring a searing end to a very long fuse for the usually calm-natured cowboy.

"You've gone and done it now..." Clay said with an unusually low tone, thunder again rumbling above, lightning crackling somewhere in the distance. Shaded eyes quickly revealed fiery rage. "I'll knock ya so hard you'll see tomorrow today!"

"Clay, wait!" Omi tried to stop him, still attempting to save a blazing wheat field.

But it was too late. Despite his own injuries, the enraged cowboy had charged their assumed enemy head-on, leaving Omi to watch in his continual dismay.

_"I... Am I truly that... bad?"_

_"Well... Ya do kinda crow a lot..."_

_"But, I..."_

_Because of his own ego, Master Fung was...?_

Omi shook the memory from mind. "I have to find the Golden Tiger Claws!" He said, abandoning his current task to run off and do just that, the teleporting Shen Gong Wu perhaps their only chance left of victory.

**x x x**

By this time Dojo had flown his way back down to the ground, landing back on the same overlooking cliff they'd left the women of the Bailey family on, the four men of said Bailey family hopping off of their rescue ride.

Mrs. Bailey, Aunt Hilda, and Annabelle all came to the saved men to shower praise and endearment. Grandma Lily, alternatively, continued to bluster at everyone and everything as she stood with her walker.

"Phew... I'm out... Out of breath... Wow, I'm outta shape."

With a few more wheezes from such hasty activity that was seldom seen, Dojo returned to his smaller size, shrinking back to the size of a large, leg-less lizard as he plopped down on the ground.

"Oh my," Aunt Hilda was the first new-addition to notice such a spectacle after greeting her courageous husband with praise. "It seems th' talkin' snake can change size!"

"Dragon..." Dojo again wheezed out. "I'm... I'm a dragon."

"This here snake's th' one that saved us." Clay Senior informed with a smile. "Even after all we'd done to 'em."

Dojo stood frozen, wheezing stopped with surprise by such a statement, along with forgotten insult of race, before self-pride took place, a smug look coming to. "Well, I-"

Jimmy snatched Dojo off the ground before he could say anything more, pulling him close.

"Thanks fer savin' us, talkin' snake!" The boy thanked as he swished to and fro with his suffocating hug. A family tradition, apparently...

"Yeah, for a talkin' snake, ya aren't half bad!" Cousin Buford agreed, equally glad to be alive.

Dojo tried to pry himself away from Jimmy's lethal hug. "Dragon!" He coughed out from being squeezed. "I'm a dragon, for crying out loud!"

Jimmy finally releasing him, Dojo landed to the ground, now holding his head as stars danced around him. "...Kid's got a grip."

"Ya sure are a feisty little fella, ain't ya?" Uncle Otis bent down to examine Dojo too. "Sorry we tried ta kill ya earlier."

Dojo folded his arms across his chest and turned his back to the four men, secretly thriving on such attention. "Well... I'll have to consider your much-needed apology, of course, but..." He looked to an eager Jimmy. "But I suppose I can let it slide." He finally gave in, Jimmy giving into a big smile.

"Gee, thanks, talkin' snake!" Jimmy thanked in all earnestness.

"...Dragon." Dojo lowly corrected.

Annabelle gave a small titter at the scene, her and the rest of the Bailey family's fear of Dojo having been successfully overcome

But the heart-warming moment was short-lived as the southern belle spotted a rather horrid scene on the horizon of their homestead below.

Annabelle covered her mouth. "Oh, dear!"

**x x x**

"EARTH!" An enraged Clay shouted as a he charged forward with an earth-encrusted punch towards the equally furious Minotaur.

But instead of attacking itself, the Minotaur only stood ground and took the hit in the gut without even bothering to attempt to avoid such an angered attack, leaving Clay in his stretched and vulnerable position with little phasing towards the monster itself, thus leaving the enemy with a well-spotted opening.

The moment seemed to stand for a short while, as if frozen in time, rain coming down, stillness engulfing the Dragon of Earth and shadow monster, and somewhere between all, Clay knew.

With a hardy snort and a good swing of the Minotaur's mighty mace, the cowboy was once again sent flying through the air...

**x x x**

Violet lightning crackled.

"Yes! The Bullhorn Blazer's all mine, baby!"

Amongst the wind and rain Jack stood atop the towering hay silo, arm outstretched with victorious pose as the new Shen Gong Wu sat within his hand's grip, his mission having finally been accomplished.

He retracted his arm, rubbing the Bullhorn Blazer as if it were a precious magic lamp. "Heheh. I'm SO taking this with me when I leave."

"Quit your gloating!" Wuya scolded, sure to remain by Jack's side. "Quickly! Use the Bullhorn Blazer on the Minotaur before those useless monks lose for good!"

As if just remembering that there was a battle waging, Jack turned his attention to the homestead below. "Yeah... about that." He looked down to the four-story-high ground from his amazing vantage point, wincing slightly. "How exactly am I supposed to get down from here?"

Lucky for Jack, his answer had come, a certain cowboy flying through the air until he crashed through the very silo Jack had so gallantly took almost half an hour to climb.

"Whoa-!" Jack wobbled around, juggling the Wu with his loose grip, the silo showing signs of complete demolition. "Lame!" He had to throw out as the tower began to implode on itself. "I finally get the Wu and now I'm going to die! This is SO unfair!"

The force of the hit was too much for the tin silo to bear, it already having taken damage from a previous motorcycle hit, and now having completely caved in as it came crashing down in a dusty downfall.

Jack's dramatic screaming didn't cease the entire way down.

"Noooooo!" Wuya made a desperate grab for the falling Bullhorn Blazer Jack had reflexively thrown up in the air before his own demise, her ghostly arms going right through it. Fists shook with fury as she could only watch the Wu disappear within the falling rubble. "Grrrrraaah! This is ridiculous!"

**x x x**

"Hold on, Clay! I'll - urg - save! - gah... you?"

Dojo was left sprawled out on the wet ground, his attempt to again super-size utterly failed.

"What's th' matter, Dojo?" Jimmy wondered. "Can't ya grow all big again?"

Dojo pulled himself from the ground with quite a disheartened look. "Doesn't look like it, kid. Seems I'm all outta Dojo-juice."

"S'that what gives ya yer powers?" Uncle Otis questioned, peering down to Dojo with great interest.

An odd look came over the small dragon, his metaphor not meant to be taken literal. "Err... yeah. Something like that." He answered, kindly patting Uncle Otis on the leg.

"That sure was a hard hit." Cousin Buford observed, looking to the demolished silo, dust still covering a good bit of the scene. "Thing went down like a led balloon."

"I sure hope Clay's alright..." Aunt Hilda worried."...And his strange-dressin' friend too."

The rest of the Bailey family returned notice as well, seeping concern for their beloved family member as they diligently waited in the rain.

**x x x**

It was dark, dusty, wet, and full of disjointed tin and clumps of hay. Small pockets of light hung from above, sprinkling down from the caved-in roof of the demolished silo. The sound of water dripping down lingered all around, small streams from the stormy outside world splattering against tin to make the most obnoxious sound ever.

Perfectly-spaced, consecutive drippings of water landed on his face.

"Oww..." The weary moaning of a certain neutral genius came through what was left of the silo, Jack finding himself lying atop a surprisingly soft pile of hay.

He gave a few coughs from the dusty, wet atmosphere before prying himself up, straightening out a crooked back. He was wet, cold, his clothes reeked, and his hair was a mess. Not to mention the Wu was no longer in his hand. This, beyond all doubt, was some serious hard-core suckage.

"Hellooo?" Jack called out to anyone amidst his sudden aloneness, looking up to see the roof completely caved in, leaving a damp, darkened atmosphere. He wrapped his arms around himself, suddenly becoming very self-aware amidst such a disquieting environment. "Okay, so this is pretty creepy." He took a moment to ponder his fate, giving a few absent blinks. "Huh. At this point I'm starting to wonder if I'm considered lucky or unlucky."

"Lucky t' be alive, I s'ppose."

Jack looked to the right to see a torn and tattered Clay hanging from a pile of tin rubble a few yards from the ground, his dust-covered cowboy hat lying below him on the ground, water dripping on it in the most undignified way possible.

Looking to the cowboy, Jack only blinked a few times, as if just recalling how Clay had been sent flying through the silo with an incredible force of speed; powerful enough to completely take down the structure itself. But hey, if Jack remembered anything from the past, it was how freakishly hard it was to take down one of the Xiaolin losers. Clay especially. The guy was like a freaking _tank_.

"Oh yeah," Was all Jack offered. "You're the reason I almost died. AND lost the Wu. Which I _totally_ had."

"Uh... sorry?" Clay more questioned than stated, continuing to dejectedly hang there.

Jack stood and dusted his sleeve off. "Yeah, well, lucky you I'm still alive." He said before looking back up to Clay. "You guys beat that freaky shadow bull yet?"

_**"RAHHHHHHHH!"**_

Jack barely had time to get in a good scream before his question was yet again answered by ridiculously ironic circumstantial chaos, the still-undefeated Minotaur barreling through the crumbled tin wall of the silo, making a hole in the small, enclosed dome both Jack and Clay had found themselves encased in.

"Well, not exactly...!" Clay shouted in answer to Jack's lofty question, now struggling to free himself from entanglement within the tin wreckage.

Shaking its head from its bursting through the demolished silo, the Minotaur's eyes shot around the enclosed space of the caved-in structure until such eyes lied upon Jack.

Oh dear sweet lord...

Spotted, Jack backed up, hands risen in front of him. "O-okay, look," He tried to reason through growing nervous unease, continuing to retreat as ideas of how to worm his way out of death came to surface. "I'm neutral! I don't even _want_ to be here! They _made_ me come back! They're _making_ me do these things! I-I don't even want the stupid Wu! You can have it!" The pleading teen fell to his knees. "Just don't kill me!"

Clay had stopped his desperate attempt to untangle himself to just stare at Jack's pitiful display in wonder. "...I guess not even Spicer changed that much." He said to himself.

The Minotaur only continued to peer down to a loudly despairing Jack. Its red eyes narrowed to the strangely familiar being before it with study, then opened wide with sudden insight.

_**"YOU!"**_ The shadowy beast roared, a hint of surprise in its tone. **_"YES! DESTROYING YOU WOULD BE MOST SATISFYING!"_** A hoofed foot was quickly risen to the air with sudden passion.

A bewildered Jack could only gape up at the merciless, towering creature as a lasso suddenly roped itself around his torso, yanking him back just as a shadowy iron hoof came crashing down to where he'd once been so shamelessly begging for his life.

"Sorry t' burst yer bubble, but no one's gettin' destroyed today." Clay firmly stated, now standing below where he'd once been trapped, having successfully untangled himself with enough time to save Jack from certain death. He picked up his filthy fallen cowboy hat, placing it back on his head. "Not while I'm still standin' anyway."

The Minotaur cocked its head towards Clay. _**"MMM... DESPITE SATISFACTION FOR THE MINOTAUR..." **_It held to itself, providing desired attention._ **"DESTROYING THE XIAOLIN DRAGON TAKES PRIORITY!"**_

And thus, it charged its way towards such a cause._**  
**_

"Pleh!" Jack spat out a wad of hay from the hay pile he'd been so starkly thrown into, pulling Clay's lasso from his waist and tossing it aside. "Man, what'd I land on?" He stuck his arm into the wet pile of hay and pulled out a familiar object. A contended grin formed. "Hey, sweet! The Wu!"

With a crashing sound, Jack broke his attention from the reclaimed Shen Gong Wu, looking over to find Clay having succeeded in gaining the Minotaur's attention with his heroic effort of alone confronting their enemy, the cowboy now battered into and pinned against the tin wall by the Minotaur's firm grip.

Clay - yet again finding himself pinned, must be a theme for him today - squirmed to try and break free. "Why you dirty, no good..." His effort was, again, entirely in vain.

Target finally captured, the enthused monster's mane flared up with a building attack, snout ready to spout fire to incinerate its weary target.

And that... that was not good.

"Oh crap!" Catching the sight, Jack fumbled with the newly-acquired ancient artifact before quickly retaining a grip, pulling the Wu apart and holding both horned sides out in front of him as instructed earlier. "Bullhorn Blazer!"

As advertized, the activated Shen Gong glowed within a bright, golden hue as it took the form of a charging bull, and with a stomping hoof and a bellowing battle cry, the summoned, gold-plated animal had initiated its own charge upon its appointed foe.

The Minotaur had a single moment of acknowledgement before the Shen Gong Wu hit its own kin by the side with a head-butting charge, the Minotaur sent crashing through the silo, out into the open, and all the way into the neighboring red cattle barn, leaving a surprised Clay to drop to the ground.

Dust settled, final construction fell, and stillness washed over the area.

With this, Clay and Jack exchanged questioning looks, unsure silence between them.

Clay coming to his feet, both he and Jack slowly emerged from the silo through the newly-made entrance, rain having subsided quite a bit as they reentered the outside world, now looking to a partially-demolished barn, knowing what may very well lie inside.

"Soooo," Jack started with clear uncertainty, still holding the Wu and refusing to leave the safety of the wrecked silo just yet. "Is it, you know... _gone_?"

Gone, trapped, destroyed, dead. He'd take anything.

"...Only one way t' find out." Clay answered, taking lead towards the barn.

Yeah, thanks Fred. What was this, Scooby-Doo Murder Mysteries?

Despite his unease and reluctance, Jack warily followed Clay's lead, albeit in that near-yet-far sort of way. Oh yeah. He was outta there if that crazy Minotaur came back, and Clay was on his own. Unlike him, Jack had a serious sense of self-preservation - err, _mostly_ - and brave, self-sacrificing heroics were _not_ what he was all about.

As the two neared the barn, not a sound came from it, the air dry with uncertainty.

"_There_ you are!"

That familiar cringing sensation in his spine sparked as Jack let out a yelp, jumping two feet closer to the human tank otherwise known as a potential meat shield.

"Wuya?" The said potential meat shield questioned. "Almost fergot ya were with Jack."

"Could you like, NOT sneak up on me every time you decide to appear out of nowhere?" Jack had to complain, eye twitching. Seriously, his nerves were _fried_, and Wuya was so not helping.

Ignoring Jack's typical whining, of which pretty much only brand-spanking-new Shen Gong Wu could enforce, the witch floated towards him, eying the shiny new Wu in his hand, the very thing she'd been searching for after their great downfall. "Ah, I see you've managed to find the Bullhorn Blazer. _Again_." Her pleased grin beamed. "And here I thought you'd perished in that nasty fall. Good job for once!"

"Think that Wu might've been just th' thing we needed too." Clay said, looking towards the collapsed, unmoving barn.

Indeed, it seemed that such an artifact had a serious effect on the Minotaur. Maybe their luck had changed. Maybe, with the Bullhorn Blazer, they'd finally won. It put Jack in a rather good mood anyway, and as moments passed, optimism rose to new heights.

"Hah, yeah. That thing wasn't so bad." Jack boasted, confidence returning with premature victory as he drew closer to the barn. He held the newly-acquired Shen Gong Wu up towards the murky sky. "Check it! With the Bullhorn Blazer, I'll be completely invincible!"

Yeah. It happened.

_**"FOOLS!"**_

And through the barn burst the magnificent Minotaur, leaving Jack frozen with victorious pose, Clay and Wuya giving into mental face-palms.

The beast's quickness slashed the Bullhorn Blazer from Jack's hand, slammed its mace into a reflexively charging Clay, sending the cowboy skidding across the ground, turned back to Jack, and raised the same weapon in the air once more.

**_"RAAAHH! THE MINOTAUR WILL DESTROY YOU FOR THAT!"_**

And when all seemed lost, two-handed mace risen, the Minotaur instantly froze, now just standing there with such a pose.

The quiet stillness of the wide-eyed, statue-like Minotaur was eerie, and Jack, of whom was actually quite surprised to still be alive, could only stare up at the frozen creature with an equally shocked Wuya floating beside him. But that didn't last long.

"Shroud of Shadows!" Jack summoned, concealing himself with the blanket Shen Gong Wu. "Forget this!" He said to himself, quick to flee the area.

Even Wuya had bailed, floating upwards to her own advantage.

Oddly enough, the Minotaur didn't seem to mind.

_**"YES, YES..."**_ The creature said to itself, lowering its weapon. _**"NOT YET."**_ It looked back to where a now invisible Jack was making his great escape, and issued a snorted wall of fire to erupt before him to block his way.

"Whoa!" In his surprise of such an accurate attack and jumping back from the suddenly-appearing wall of fire, Jack had dropped the Shroud of Shadows, leaving him visible again and utterly dumbfounded.

What was that! How the heck did it know where he was?!**_  
_**

But before Jack could do anything more, he found himself face-to-face with the Minotaur again, his back now to the forged wall of fire, backing up any farther warranting him turning into one heck of a crispy teen genius. No other options at his disposal, he feverishly dug through his jacket pockets for any remaining Shen Gong Wu, until he'd finally pulled out his only remaining one.

Jack blinked a few times, looking up to the story-high beast as he held the blue and gold pyramid-shaped object up with more uncertainty than passion

"...Indigo Pyramid?"

**_"SOON ENOUGH WILL YOUR TIME COME!" _**The clearly unaffected beast roared, and with a quick spin on its hoof, gave a tail-whip attack that sent a screaming Jack flying back into the nearby wooden fence. It then turned back to where its true target now lied. _**"FIRST COMES THE XIAOLIN FIEND."  
**_

**x x x**_**  
**_

Meanwhile, Omi had finally located his objective deep within the vast corn field, holding it up with triumphant glee.

"I have found the Golden Tiger Claws!" He proudly announced... only to see the rather spine-chilling sight of his good friend about to be slaughtered less than sixty yards away, the Minotaur's large battle-mace risen high in the air to be crashed down upon a worn and beaten Clay.

Time slowed down significantly, that image alone being all it took for one final flashback to reveal itself within the young monk's deeply plagued mind.

_"Well... it looks like this's th' final rodeo fer the great Xiaolin Dragons..."_

_"No, Clay! Please! Do not leave too! I do not want to be left alone!"_

_"...Sorry, Omi. Master Fung was th' glue that held us all together. Without him... well... there just ain't no Xiaolin Dragons."_

_And with those final words, the essence and everything about the Dragon of Earth slowly disappeared into the distance of forgotten eternity..._

Omi's eyes grew wide. "NO!"

With the simultaneous clashing of the Falcon's Eye and Lion's Ear, alongside the sound of the Golden Tiger Claws slashing the air, Omi had no sooner appeared in the sixty yards he'd seen from a distance, having given a good tackle to the Minotaur with a swift kick to its stomach, sending it flying back with surprising force.

The dark beast crashed through the barn yet again, falling on its back as Clay stared in wonder at Omi from his position on the ground.

For once the cowboy was speechless, still comprehending the fact that he wasn't dead and that Omi had somehow managed to appear out of nowhere and land such an effective attack on a practically indestructible enemy.

But oh, Omi was far from finished.

As the enraged Minotaur let out another infuriated roar, emerging from the now completely destroyed barn with raised fists, Omi jumped to front.

"Golden Tiger Claws!" In a split second, the young monk had appeared behind the Minotaur. "Tsunami Strike: WATER!" He shouted, water amassing in a single unit around him as he spun in the air, a tornado-like funnel of water spinning out of control as it crashed itself into the enraged Minotaur.

_**RAHHHH!"**_ The creature roared as he turned to face its attacker, only to take a step back, and then another, trying to catch itself from the relentless series of water attacks.

But again, Omi was not yet done.

"Golden Tiger Claws!" Again Omi had disappeared, reappearing behind his enemy. "Tornado Strike: ICE!" He then added, the watery tornado suddenly lashing out an arsenal of ice spikes as they too crashed into the dark entity that was the Minotaur monster.

Still unfinished, the combined series of attacks and instantaneous use of the Golden Tiger Claws didn't cease, such a fierce tactic continuing to ensue with no restraint on Omi's part, everyone who bore witness to such utterly baffled.

The Minotaur fought the entire way, swinging its mace around at a continual disappearing monk as it took more water and ice attacks that seemed to have no end.

The beat gave a fierce roar. **_"NO! NOOO! YOU CANNOT DEFEAT THE MIGHTY MINOTAUR!"_**

Seeing the Minotaur have little room for retaliation with such relentless assault from Omi, Clay wasn't about to let it get that chance to attack again either. He grit his teeth and bit through the pain to form his own contribution of assault.

"EARTH!" The cowboy shouted, the ground shaking to where two opposing barn walls fell on top of the Minotaur, securing it in place. This time it was the Minotaur who was trapped, and Clay had to say, it felt darned good.

_**"YOU INFURIATING XIAOLIN DRAGONS!"**_ The Minotaur continued to roar with all fury, writhing around in trying to break free of its new restraints, to little advance.

Omi landed on his feet to the ground, panting from such a passionate demonstration. He'd given it his all, with more determination than ever, now looking upon the trapped and beaten shadow monster that had taken the form of a Minotaur. "It is over, cow-monster!" He held through summoned resolve. "We have won this battle!"

As the Minotaur continued to struggle to free itself, it seemed as if the creature was oozing blackness from its being, chunks of its dark body disintegrating, as if parts of it were floating off and vaporizing into thin air bit by bit. It's Minotaur-like form was hardly recognizable now, yet the core of the beast remained, those red eyes seeping an evil Omi had never seen before.

Such a moment made even Omi stop for a moment to consider the situation, his proud air now overcome by the tainted emotion of uncertainty and doubt.

With this, the dark and shadowy creature ceased to squirm and writhe and roar, instead looking to a now uncertain Omi. _**"**__**WHAT'S THE MATTER, YOUNG XIAOLIN MONK?**_" It questioned with sudden uncharacteristic calmness, tantalizing tone echoing across the estate as its red eyes bore into Omi's own. **_"AREN'T YOU GOING TO FINISH OFF THE MIGHTY MINOTAUR?"  
_**

Omi was silent, staring at the strange entity before him. It was trapped and beaten and ultimately defeated - mostly out of Omi's own anger with finishing strike - the creature slowly deteriorating in an abnormal demise. It had lost. They had won. It was over.

_**"HAHAHAHA!"**_ The Minotaur then broke with hysterical laughter, easily sensing Omi's hesitance and indecision. **_"DON'T TELL ME THE GREAT XIAOLIN DRAGON OF WATER DOESN'T HAVE THE STOMACH TO—"_**

"EARTH!"

Without another word, in a split second a fist-full of rubble smashed into the mocking Minotaur monster, a sharp cry of both fury and pain echoing from the beast as a good chunk of its dark energy of a body vaporized.

Omi turned with wide eyes to find Clay at his side, who held his arm from his own sustained injuries, though firmly stood ground all the same.

"Ya can't fool us, shadow monster." Clay said with unwavering resolve. "We know what ya really are..." He took pace forward, slowly and calmly. "Ya destroyed our Temple, killed our master, an' now you've gone and attacked my family, hurt th' people I love, and destroyed my home too." He came to a stop, worn and torn cowboy hat shading his eyes. "I don't rightly know where it is ya came from... but ya ain't stayin' here in our world." And with that, the cowboy let out another good stomp to the ground. "Seismic Kick: EARTH!"

With the firm kick to the ground, a powerful tremor initiated underneath the barn, forcing what remained of the already-demolished building to come crashing down upon the beaten Minotaur monster, another sharp cry echoing from the beast as its entire body began to vaporize, seeping up beneath the wreckage to signify its final moments of existence.

_**"RRAHHHH! THIS IS NOT THE END!"**_ The fading Minotaur roared, sudden ferocity returning. _**"DOOM IS UPON YOU ALL! DARKNESS SHALL PREVAIL!"**_

And with those final strange and eerie words, it had vaporized for good. Even the air seemed to have altered, a lighter atmosphere taking place, the storm calmed as clouds dissipated.

The shadow monster was gone. Truly this time, the battle was over...

Clay and Omi looked to each other. They could feel it too. This really was the end. Despite such a long a weary battle, they had won.

Soft smiles came over the two Xiaolin Dragons as they looked to each other with certain gratification, even the sky clearing from its stormy weather to allow the warmth of the sun to shine down upon them through pockets of blackened clouds. Words were unnecessary, the feeling of victory resonating in the beginning stages of healing scars from long ago.

They'd worked together to overcome an unbeatable enemy, each regaining a small sliver of redemption from the past.

"Yeah, I'm fine, by the way!"

Breaking from their fluffy, heart-warming moment, Omi and Clay both turned to look at the shattered fence. And there Jack Spicer was, lying underneath the heap of wood in which he was thrown.

"Really. Just peachy." Jack continued to complain, attempting to pull himself from the fence's remains, only to continually trip over himself in such an awkward position and fall back down in the exact same spot.

Clumsiness just came naturally to him.

"I can honestly say I'm surprised you're even alive, Jack." Wuya idly remarked as she floated beside her bothersome partner.

Jack looked up to Wuya from his pathetic position, having apparently given up his attempt to restore any sort of dignity. "Was that a compliment I just heard?"

"Oh please!" Wuya spat. "Only YOU would take a compliment from that!"

"C'mon Jack, ya can't just sit around all day long."

Jack blinked, now finding a gloved hand in front of him, looking up to see Clay the one to offer it.

"Gotta say, ya surprised me." The friendly cowboy offered with a smile. "Thanks fer havin' my back back there. Maybe ya really ain't so bad after all."

And that was just too much to bear. Really. Who did this guy think he was?

Irritable smugness instantly took precedence. "Oh, I'm bad alright," Jack threw out, grabbing the offered hand. "Totally bad. Rotten to the core. And don't you forget it!"

"Well alrighty, evil pardner, if ya insist." Clay freely endorsed, pulling Jack to his feet with ease.

Jack dusted himself off with grumbled irritation from his nice clothes being yet again foiled. And hair. His poor hair. Why was it always the hair? Wait. _Evil_? He was _neutral_ already! He turned back to Clay. "And for the _billionth_ time, I'm not-"

"Omi! Clay! Are you guys okay?!"

With the frantic calls of one frenzied mystical dragon, everyone turned to find Dojo quickly scurrying their way, only to come to a skidding halt before them.

"Any broken bones? Sprains? Scrapes or bruises?!" The small dragon held his head. "Ohhhh, if anything happened to you two, I'd be one Temple Guardian out of a lifetime career!"

"Aw, no need t' worry 'bout us, Dojo. We're jus' fine." Clay said with a laugh. "Not ex'actly fair t' middlin', but I reckon we're still in one piece."

Fine. Right.

Fine was a relative term, of course, considering that everyone looked like they'd been run over by a freight-train ten times over and then thrown into a lake. Clothes were torn, tattered, and soaked, dirt and dust settled on faces and in hair, and visible injury lingered.

But fine. If alive meant anything, then fine would do.

"We have defeated the evil cow-monster!" Omi triumphantly exclaimed, the feeling of true victory suddenly hitting. He held up the Bullhorn Blazer that he'd picked up from the ground upon its flung position - probably while Clay was busy saving Jack from a fence. "And we now have a new Shen Gong Wu!"

"Darn right," Clay said with his own smile, eyes lighting up. "I reckon we made a pretty good team back there."

Silence suddenly washed over the two Xiaolin Dragons with those particular words, even Clay finding enlightenment, victorious and contended smiles suddenly fading with realization and apprehensive memory.

_Team_. What a word.

Even Jack had to raise an eyebrow at the sudden change of mood. "What's with them?" He asked a neighboring Wuya.

But before he could get what would undoubtedly be some spiteful, sassy answer, it seemed more company was to arrive.

"Clay, my boy, ya did it!" A bandaged Clay Senior proudly called out, running towards them alongside the rest of the Bailey family.

Even the faintly-mended Black Vipers joined them in heading their way, enthusiasm flourishing from the lot of them in having witnessed true victory.

"Honey-bear!" Annabelle called out, also taking quick pace towards her future husband. "Please do tell me ya ain't hurt!"

Breaking from his friends of the past, Clay waved a gloved hand in the air to his present and future family. "Hey, y'all!" He called out. "We're as fine as th' day's long!"

"Speak for yourself." Jack grumbled to himself, wringing out his soaked shirt.

"Oh boy..." Dojo looked to the oncoming Bailey family and Black Vipers, and then to the devastated farmland Clay and his family had worked so hard to build and maintain. He rubbed the back of his head. "...Looks like we've got ourselves a real good bit of explaining to do."

* * *

You're welcome for making your eyes bleed from having so much to read in one sitting.  
Mmm. Ridiculous all-caps Minotaur spouting off some pretty crazy stuff there.  
Just another reason I've changed the genre of this story to adventure/mystery.

But anyway...  
That brings to a close the action-y part of this chapter!  
And now you know what my full-blown fight scenes look like.  
9000+ words of fail.

Next chapter comes the conclusion of the group's Texas adventure.  
Will Clay be joining them, or will they have to pass their old cowboy friend up?


	15. CH4: Fear And Loathing In Texas, PT5

**CHAPTER FOUR: FEAR AND LOATHING IN TEXAS**  
**- [_PART 5_] -****  
**

Lawl, I didn't know you guys cared. /blush  
Hey, better late to the party than to have never arrived at all, right?  
Right?  
Please don't kill me...

* * *

A warm evening atmosphere had taken place of the stormy afternoon, the bright orange Texas sun setting over the scenery of a once prosperous cattle ranch, now rancid with an abundance of wreckage and destruction.

There was a gaping hole in the wall of a ruined mess of a dining room, the windmill hung broken half-mass, the cattle barn and tool shed were completely annihilated, the silo was nothing more than a pile of tin rubble, the wheat field was a watered-down and charred disaster, the hog pin and chicken coop were both a frenzy, practically every fence was smashed to pieces in more places than not, and water puddles littered the entire estate amongst random holes from excavated earth attacks.

Overall, the place was a complete and utter disaster.

"Great," A bandaged Jack said as he, Omi, Dojo, and Wuya idly waited upon the front porch of the Bailey house, looking out to the fine assortment of damage they'd managed to cause in such a fierce battle. "Now we'll never get kung-fu cowboy to come back with us."

"I am afraid that after today, Clay will never wish to even speak with us again..." A sad and equally bandaged Omi lamented, leaning limply over the porch's wooden railing with feet dangling under him, unable to reach the ground.

Dojo hopped on the railing himself. "C'mon, you guys! You can't give up that easily!" He enticed. "The world's at stake, remember?"

"The lizard is right!" Wuya agreed with equal passion, floating to center. "The Dragon of Earth MUST join us! There is no other alternative if we are to keep the world from ultimate destruction!"

Omi seemed to ponder such words for a moment as he continued to drearily hang upon the railing, mind at work as words from earlier sprung to mind.

_"DESTROY THE WORLD, YOU SAY? IS THAT WHAT THEY TOLD YOU? HOW... PREDICTABLE!" _

"...Is destroying the world truly what the shadow monster intends to do?" Omi spoke up with question, turning his head to look to both Jack and Wuya.

"Of course it is!" Wuya sharply replied. "What kind of question is that?"

Omi turned his attention to Jack directly with the same curious look on his face.

Jack gave a shrug. "It's what Chase said, okay. That shadow monster thing - called Persaeus or whatever - wants to destroy the world, so here I am trying to get you four losers back together since you're apparently the only hope of actually defeating it."

Pretty sure he already explained that once.

"How noble." Wuya teased, knowing the ridiculously pathetic reason Jack was forced to complete such a daunting task in the first place.

"What's going on in that noggin of yours, Omi?" Dojo asked, knowing the naïve though sharp-minded monk wouldn't ask such a question for no reason. "Something happen during that battle?"

Omi shook his head. "No. It is nothing." He said, deciding that the Minotaur's words were nothing more than an evil shadow monster trying to pry into his mind and confuse him. He let out a sigh. "I just would like to know why the shadow monster attacked Clay and his family."

Yeah, and _he_ would like to know why the freaky thing existed to begin with, Jack thought bitterly to himself. But not even Jack could pry from his mind what he'd witnessed a few hours ago. If the shadow monster was a terrifying creature of ultimate evil power, then Omi must have been some sort of demigod counterpart to it because jeez, that stunt he pulled back there was wicked. He remembered baldy being skilled with the whole crazy kung-fu thing, but beating the Minotaur down like that - now _that_ was intense.

"Who knows." Dojo shrugged, leaning on a post on the railing. "The crazy thing seemed pretty bent on going after you and Clay though."

"Pffft, yeah," Jack agreed, leaning against the outside wall of the wooden house. "It kept shouting 'Xiaolin Dragons' this and 'Xiaolin Dragons' that. The heck did you guys do to it to make it hate you so freaking much?"

"We didn't do anything!" A defensive Dojo answered, somewhat cross. "The shadow monster attacked us two and a half years ago out of nowhere!" He rubbed his chin, looking up in thought. "Was never really the cordial type to tell us why."

"That's because you never bothered to speak with it and ascertain what it wanted." Wuya swayed with pompous swagger.

"Yeah, that seemed to go real swell for you and your pal Chase." Dojo dimly countered. "I'll pass on the getting all chummy with it, thanks."

"Hmph!" Wuya scoffed. "At least we deciphered more about the infuriating creature than you Xiaolin do-gooders ever did!"

"If Chase Young says that the shadow monster - that _Persaeus _- plans to destroy the world," Omi said, determined look brewing over him as he continued to hang upon the railing. "Then we have no choice but to believe him, and we must stop such evil at all costs."

Leave it to Omi to put so much information into very simple perspective.

Jack looked down with his own thoughts. It made him wonder how much Chase had really told him. There had to be more to all this than just some random evil shadow monster appearing out of nowhere and threatening to destroy the world... right?

He let out an inward groan with the second thought of, then again... such a stupid thing made _complete_ sense within the land of mystical nonsense known as the Xiaolin Showdown world. And really, he was only here for a short time anyway; played a small part in this mess. In the end, he really couldn't care less how deep this whole thing went.

"Whatever." Was Jack's eventual reply. "Are they done in there or what?"

After the battle, there was obviously a lot to be explained to both Clay and his family. After everyone had been bandaged and tended to, Omi and Jack had explained all that they knew to Clay to the best of their ability.

**x x x**

_"Clay, I am so sorry." A bruised and battered Omi sincerely apologized with deep bow to his dear friend. "We were the ones who led the shadow monster here. It is our fault your cow farm is all upside-out and inside-down."_

_"Naw..." An equally pained Clay shook his head. "I'm th' one that needs t' apologize. I wouldn't hear y'all out b'fore. I was so wrapped up in my life here, and it was downright strange havin' my past show up after so long." He tipped his hat up to look Omi in the eye. "...But you guys're my friends." He looked to Jack and Wuya. "...Mostly. And now I'm ready t' listen t' what ya have t' say."_

**x x x**

And so it was. Omi and Jack told Clay about the evil shadow monster reemerging at the Xiaolin Temple. They told of Chase and Wuya's encounter with such an entity; of how it called itself Persaeus, voiced its purpose of destroying the world, and reduced Wuya to her current state of a useless, bodiless spirit.

They told him of how Persaeus had taken over the Xiaolin Temple and would occasionally attack the Xiaolin Monks even still, of Guan picking up the duties as leader of the Xiaolin Monks, and of Chase's undercover plan to sneak past his mortal enemy in attempt to reunite the four Xiaolin Dragons vicariously through Jack.

It was a lot to take in for the easy-riding cowboy, and it was understandable that both Jack and Omi would doubt his ability to not hold blame upon them and continue to see them as allies.

Mystical madness was nothing new to Clay though, and he knew his friends weren't just whistlin' Dixie, especially after having witnessed the shadow monster's appearance on his own stomping grounds. To blame his friends for such an invasion was far beyond him, naturally, and he knew where to place proper blame. But even so, Clay had a lot to consider as far as his own decisions went, and a lot to explain to his own family.

That was, in fact, where Clay was now; inside the house explaining what had happened to his family, and what Jack, Omi, Wuya, and Dojo were all patiently waiting outside on the front porch for.

Silence had swept over the four of them for a good moment, everyone seeming to be in their own thoughts. Hearing the front door swing open, the group turned their attention to front, all eyes now on Clay and his open arrival.

Omi instantly dropped from the railing. "Clay!"

Clay tipped his hat. "Howdy, y'all. Sorry it took so darned long. Had t' explain some stuff to th' folks."

"And how'd _that_ go?" Dojo had to wonder.

"Well... some of it was a tad bit hard for 'em t' take in, what with th' shadow monster business n' all..." Clay admitted. "But I reckon they all understand fair enough."

"Good!" Wuya flew to front. "Now you can join us in defeating the REAL shadow monster once and for all!"

Clay was silent for a good, solid moment, hat shading his eyes.

Jack picked up on the over-evident subliminal message all too well. He slouched with a rather dulled look. "...You're not coming back with us, are you?"

The torn cowboy let out a low, tired sigh. "I know y'all came all th' way down here just fer me, and I even know about what all th' shadow monster's been doin' since we all went our separate ways... but none of that changes where I stand now."

The sullen cowboy looked out to the horizon. "This here ranch... well, it's seen some pretty hard times. Been down on its luck pretty rough-like..." He looked back to his friends. "Ya got t' understand... I've got myself a whole different life now. I got people that depend on me n' need me here. I can't just up and leave... If I do, who knows what'll happen t' my family."

Omi's face couldn't have possibly been any gloomier.

"I'm not using it again." Jack said to himself with folded arms. "No. I'm not. I refuse. You can't make me."

Wuya gave an irritable groan with Jack's typical childish evasiveness of using the Indigo Pyramid. "Infant." She grumbled to herself.

"Well, Clay..." Dojo was the one to speak up. "We can't force you to come back with us. But is this really what you want?"

Clay looked off to the side. "Don't get me wrong..." He answered. "I want t' help y'all out. I truly do. But it's like I said b'fore... I ain't a Xiaolin monk anymore."

"But your earth abilities are still so very powerful, Clay!" Omi said. "Without your help, we could not have defeated the evil cow-monster!"

There was a certain restrained eagerness in Clay's eyes that spoke words of their own, the look on his face revealing underlying feelings long disregarded by dithering position, yet the sturdy Texan was sure to hold ground in being utterly torn between two worlds.

"...We need your help to defeat the shadow monster, Clay." Omi persisted with softer though equally genuine touch. "We cannot do it without you... That is the truth."

Clay continued his gaze off to the side, unable or unwilling look Omi in the eye. "...I know." He lowly admitted, which in itself was a rather hefty improvement from all-out denying the entirety of his usefulness earlier. "But I-"

"What's all this horse pucky I'm hearin'?"

The group turned to look to Clay Senior now standing there on the front porch, chest puffed out, hands on his hips, handlebar moustache curled in an upright fashion, and his long-rimmed cowboy hat sitting on his head, firm and completely unwavering in his strong presence.

"Daddy!" Clay's eyes widened with surprise.

"All I hear are a bunch of excuses." Clay Senior continued without restraint, making pace towards Clay until coming to a stop in front of him. "Act like ya got some raisin', boy! It's time ta stop foolin' around n' cowboy up!"

Clay couldn't have looked more surprised. "Ya mean... ya _want_ me t' go?" He questioned in astonished wonder.

Clay Senior slapped a hand on Clay's shoulder. "Son, there's a little thing in this great-big world called takin' priority." The large man said. "Now, stayin' here n' raisin' a good, well-meanin' family's a big responsibility, no lie. But goin' out there ta save th' whole world... well, that's somethin' else right there." He looked to the assortment of misfits labeled under the eccentric banner of Clay's friends. "And from what I'm hearin' yer kooky friends here say, th' world needs ya. That there's some _real_ responsibility."

Clay looked down with thought, taking in such words from such a prominent and meaningful figure in his life. "But what about th' ranch... and th' family?" He questioned, looking back up to his father.

"Oh, boo on th' ranch." A new voice said, everyone looking to Jessie now emerging from the house to come upon the porch. "You think a little wreckage like this'll keep our family down? We're Baileys, Clay, n' we got more grit than two vultures fighin' over a pair a rags in th' desert."

"That's right!" Uncle Otis then entered the scene, now standing beside Jessie. "A few boards down ain't gonna stop us. Good lord willin' and the creek don't rise, we'll have this old place fixed up as soon as you can say peppercorn!"

"Just leave it ta us, Cuz." Cousin Buford added with a tip of his hat.

"I'll help too!" Jimmy the Kid pitched in. "It'll be neat bein' related ta someone who's gonna save the world!"

"Just be sure ta pack clean underwear, dear." Mrs. Bailey prompted. "And clean socks. And yer Sunday go-ta-meetin' clothes in case a one of them formal affairs."

And before he knew it, Clay's entire family stood before him, offering their encouragement...

The young cowboy was still in speechless shock, looking to his family in their full support.

"What, so Clay's entire family was eavesdropping on us?" Dojo wondered aloud to himself in the forgotten and completely irrelevant background.

"Listen here, son." Clay Senior more demanded than endorsed, taking Clay's attention once more. "Any decent man can run a ranch... but it takes a truly extraordinary man ta help save th' world." He gave a hard slap to his son's back. "You go with yer friends, Clay, n' show that monster what a _real_ Texas boy can do!"

It took a moment for it all to sink in, Clay only able to stand there amongst his family and friends. "Gosh I... Thanks, Daddy. Everyone." But his eyes couldn't help but drift over to his fiancé, her will being his own.

Annabelle, who'd been standing off to the side in her shy silence, looked away with her own small smile. "Tell th' truth n' shame th' Devil..." She started with mild blush, "I won't lie none. I'll dearly miss my honey-bear..." She looked back to Clay. "But I'd rather marry no one less than a man who'd given his all ta save th' world... _and_ Texas. A true hero."

Clay offered his own returning smile. "Well... I sure ain't no hero," He admitted. "But you bet I'll do right by Texas n' make y'all proud. You'll see."

And with that, Clay tipped his hat, looking back to his friends. "Gosh, fellas..." He said, rubbing the back of his neck, though a true, earnest smile - perhaps you could even call it a grin - couldn't help but give him away. "Reckon I don't got much choice after all."

"...That mean you're ready to come back with us now?" An impatient and fairly piqued Jack questioned.

"If you'll have me." Clay answered with unwavering smile.

"We would have you!" Omi quickly leaped towards his cowboy friend, latching onto Clay in a tight hug. "I am soooo happy you have decided to join us, Clay! Your family is most magnificent!"

"I'll say." Dojo agreed with a smile. "What a crazy bunch. Eh?" He looked down to see Jimmy tugging on his tail.

"You guys're gonna stay fer the night though, right?" Jimmy wondered, looking up to Dojo.

"Yeah!" Cousin Buford piped up. "It's pretty late n' we can't see y'all out without a proper send-off!"

"Well then what're we waitin' fer?" Uncle Otis announced. "Let's pull a plank off th' wall n' get that celebration a-goin' fer tomorrow's send-off!"

**x x x**

"...and so ta commemorate th' occasion - fer Clay and Annabelle's future marriage, and fer Clay goin' off ta save th' world - I propose a toast. Here's ta you, son, fer makin' somethin' of yerself, doin' right by yer family, an' holdin' to yer Texan values."

And with one final, exceptionally loud cheer and clinging glass, followed by the mass intake of liquid poured from a bottle marked with an illustrious "XXX" label, that concluded Clay Senior finally giving that toast he'd always so passionately desired. And really, that's all it took for the Bailey family and their guests to finally let loose.

The party had lasted well into the night. By the end of it all, Clay Senior had finally made his toast, Mrs. Bailey had forced Jack to bear witness to practically every family photo ever taken while Annabelle harked on his choice of apparel, Dojo managed to join in with Uncle Otis and Cousin Buford in playing their respective instruments of a five-string banjo and wooden fiddle, the Black Vipers had taught Omi the art of southern square dancing, and Jimmy the Kid had pestered Wuya enough for her to finally break bad and agree to help spook Aunt Hilda and Grandma Lily.

Wuya had to admit, it was more satisfying than she'd expected.

But alas, everyone more than exhausted from a hard day's work, a brutal afternoon of fighting, and a long night of partying, the celebrations began to wind down with fatigue settling in.

Mrs. Bailey and Aunt Hilda had already begun cleaning up, busy in the kitchen and dining room - which, yes, still had that gaping hole in it, now covered by a tarp. Grandma Lily had fallen asleep in her rocker, Cousin Buford and Uncle Otis sprawled on the couch, half asleep themselves. Jimmy had fallen asleep curled up on the couch as he held onto a trapped Dojo, who was desperately reaching towards the table for leftovers of Annabelle's highly-addictive sugar cookies. The Black Vipers had all passed out in various spots across the living room floor, Jessie herself the only remaining Viper, now sucking down the leftover glass bottle of "XXX"... whatever that could possibly be.

Near the wall with the massive collage of family photos, Annabelle patted Omi on the head with a humored giggle after he'd made one of his typically naïve yet charming remarks on behalf of marriage, Jack rolling his eyes and Wuya hovering beside him, the party having died down significantly with little remaining members for her take any more entertainment from.

On the other end of the room stood Clay Senior and his esteemed son, both of whom had also managed to stay up past midnight despite such a long day.

"Jus' between us, son," Clay Senior started. "Does that fella seem a little light in th' loafers ta you?"

Clay followed his father's gaze towards Annabelle, Omi, and Jack. "Who, Jack?" He questioned, the snarky teen in question now loudly defending his choice of eyeliner to Annabelle and newly-arrived (and rather merry) Jessie, even Wuya pitching in with insult on Jack's behalf, of which visibly added fuel to the fire, Omi himself only able to agree that if Jack were on the side of good, he would not have the need to participate in the girly trends of makeup-wearing.

Clay gave an small chuckle. "Aw, Spicer's alright." He reassured his father. "Tends t' carry on a bit sometimes, but I wouldn't worry none about him."

Even in his evil villain days of the past, Clay couldn't really remember Jack being too much of a threat. Just really, really annoying.

"Well son, I trust yer judgment." Clay Senior nodded, seeming to accept such an explanation entirely. "Yer comin' of age now an', well... it's high time yer old pa steps on back n' lets ya do yer own thing."

A truly genuine, almost surprised smile crossed Clay, pale blue eyes lighting up. "Thanks, Daddy."

"Ya still plan ta do right an' marry Annabelle, don'tcha?"

Clay's genuine smile was taken down a peg, curiosity of intention setting in. "Well yea, of course, Daddy."

"Good man." Clay Senior nodded. "Me n' the girls've been talkin'. We decided that after all this shadow monster end-a-th'-world nonsense is over and ya come back home, we'll go ahead and have that weddin' here at th' ol' ranch."

Clay couldn't help but be taken aback by that, eyes widening. "But... but we were plannin' t' have the weddin' in six months."

"Well, boy, if yer gonna commit then ya gotta commit!" Clay Senior persisted. "Th' sooner ya marry that girl, th' better. She's exactly what this family needs!" A thick, sturdy finger was jabbed into Clay's chest. "She's exactly what YOU need, son."

"Yea, I know that, Daddy, but I-"

"Now, now, no more talk about this scuttle." Clay Senior finished. "It's a done deal, so ya don't have'ta worry none 'bout settin' up no weddin'. It'll be all made up for ya once ya get back. All ya gotta do is show up!" He gave Clay a hardly slap on the back. "Don't get much better than that, son!"

"Yeah..." Clay impassively agreed. "...Thanks, Daddy."

**x x x**

Words couldn't even begin to describe how sore he was. As if having stayed awake for more than twenty-four hours thanks to the stupid time-zone craziness wasn't bad enough, he'd also been man-handled enough in one day to never want to step foot outside ever again. There were scrapes and bruises in places he'd rather not even think about.

Omi, on the other hand, seemed to handle his injuries with more grace and elegance than Jack could ever possibly hope to.

The energetic monk jumped from the dresser to his bed, clothed in typical Xiaolin Monk nightwear. "Today was most exciting, don't you agree?" He dared to ask his bunk-mate with a large smile.

"Ow... ow... ah..." Jack had finally managed to crawl his way into his own bed, his sore body sure to tell him how stupid he was every painful inch of the way. How Omi was bouncing around like a freaking jumping bean was far beyond him, but the irrepressible urge to throw the lamp - or at least a pillow - at him was quickly building. "Exciting. _Right_." His sarcasm came to answer. He began setting the alarm, placing it on the end table between the two beds. "I think it's safe to say that I'm too sore to deal with you right now."

"Oh, but Jack Spicer," Omi shook his head with a scolding 'tsk'ing noise. "If you were more diligent in your exercise routine and trained daily as a proud and noble Xiaolin Warrior, you would not be feeling the pains as you do right now!"

And Jack could only offer a listless, deadpan look. He finally gave into a deep groan, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Why am I - the only _normal_ person here - the one constantly ridiculed?"

"I do not ridicule you, Jack!" A still-cheerful Omi countered. "I am merely pointing out your flaws so that you may correct them in the future! You do not have to worry, for with my help and guidance, you will be able to hone your skills and better yourself as a warrior!"

"Yeah, I'll pass, thanks." Jack easily dismissed, reaching for the lamp between the beds. "Just try not to wake me up, cueball. I need my beauty sleep." He pulled the dangling switch, the light clicking off, throwing the room into darkness.

Eventually Omi had wormed his way under the covers and joined Jack in settling down.

It was a good thing Clay had such a big house. The fact that there were two beds in the guestroom was a godsend, though Jack had to inwardly - okay fine, outwardly - complain about the quality of said beds. Hard, stiff, wooden bed-frames with even stiffer mattresses were probably what he should have expected from the likes of a rough and tumble Texan family living in the middle of the endless freaking desert.

But man, he really was beat... Even Jack had to admit that any bed would do at this point, even a really cruddy one, and he could feel himself slowly drifting off into slumber...

"Clay has grown bigger, don't you think?"

"Huh?" Jack warily grumbled. "Oh. Yeah, sure."

"He is stronger now too!"

"Uh-huh."

"The way he used his earth element today was most amazing!"

Jack rolled over in his bed, snatching the covers up in a bundle with him. "Ugh. Come on, chedderhead, go to sleep already."

"But I am so very excited!" Omi couldn't help but exclaim from his bed, it giving into a faint squeak with movement. "We have a new Shen Gong Wu, Clay has decided to join us, and we are going to see Raimundo and Kimiko soon! Oh, I wish we could go this very minute!"

And Jack could only groan out a listless, "Sleeeeeeeep." Which seemed to have done the trick. A moment of greatly-desired silence finally took form, peace returning. That is until...

"Jack?"

He knew he was going to hate himself for this.

"_What_?"

"I am glad you are here."

Newly frozen in his tightly-curled ball of covers, the uniquely strange look on Jack's face read of both wondering confusion and utter skepticism. "Yeah, well. Don't get used to it." He threw back after a moment, spitefulness blaring in all defense. "It's like I said. After this stupid mission's over, I'm outta here."

"Yes, but even so..." Omi sat up in all earnestness, eyes having already adjusted to the darkness. "I would not be able complete this grand task alone."

"Sure you would." Was the lazy, indifferent reply.

"Why do you have to leave once we return to China?"

Oh, hey. Nice change of subject. Jack let out a frustrated sigh. "It's complicated, okay."

"How is it complicated?" A curious voice piqued.

Man, he was tired. "It just _is_."

"But you have just now returned!"

"I didn't _want _to 'return'."

"...Why not?"

Jack let out a small, irritated grumble before settling on an answer. "Because I have a _real_ life now."

Omi's head tilted further in confusion. "A real life?"

"_Yeah_."

A pause of deep thought swirled within the young monk's mind. "...I do not understand."

And in some pathetic way, that was totally expected. But no way was he going to lay there and explain what a real life was to a kid who'd never known anything other than life as a crazy Xiaolin monk. "Like I said. Complicated."

Another pause, Omi's head coming downward in contemplation before gaze settled on Jack once more. "...Why did you leave to begin with?"

Perhaps the longest pause yet had come between the two bunk-mates, that question alone lingering in the darkness between both Omi and Jack for a good, solid moment.

"Just go to sleep, Omi."

**x x x**

Just outside of the barely-cracked door to the guest room hovered a floating purple head who'd been lurking there for quite some time, now presenting a rather suspicious look in what all she'd overheard in her ill-notion spying.

"Ah-ah, look who's eavesdropping _now_."

Wuya jerked to the left to see Dojo standing there in one of his ridiculous little night gowns with a matching night cap, holding a candle in an old-fashioned candlestick holder.

"What? Afraid of what a few kids might have to say behind your back?" Dojo couldn't help but tease.

"Mind your own business, lizard!" Wuya warned. "I care for no such absurdities!" And with that, she vanished down the hallway before disappearing through one of the walls, irritable as ever.

Dojo just stood there with pursed lips. "Touchy." He mused before shrugging it off and entering the guest room to join Omi and Jack in well-deserved slumber.

They had a big day tomorrow, after all, the adventure due to resume course. Tokyo or Rio de Janeiro... which would be next? No matter the case, their time in Texas wouldn't soon be forgotten. They'd re-acquainted themselves with Clay's rambunctious family, battled their most fearsome shadow monster opponent yet, and even managed to grab hold of a new Shen Gong Wu.

Not a doubt in the world that it was definitely a day to remember...

**CHAPTER FOUR: FEAR AND LOATHING IN TEXAS - END**

* * *

END. YES. YES. END.  
And that (finally omg) concludes chapter four!

So yeah, I actually AM alive! Ain't that something?  
Fffff, I'm legit amazed you guys put up with me this long.  
I love all of you like you don't even know...  
...Now come here and hug me! ; 3;


	16. CH5: Red Rose Tokyo, PT1

**CHAPTER FIVE: RED ROSE TOKYO**  
**- [_PART 1_] -****  
**

Welcome to Chapter Five!  
I bet you guys'll never guess who the gang decided to seek out next.  
Title? ...What title?

* * *

_"Omi..."_ A familiar voice called out from that of the great abyss. _"Omi..."_

In a fantastic, white expanse of nothingness stood not a soul but Omi as he curiously looked around.

"Master Fung?" The young monk questioned, recognizing the distant voice. "Is that you?"

_"Omi... There isn't much time..."_ The slightly inverted, waning voice again spoke. _"You must hurry..."_ The voice began to fade, as did the essence of the great, white void altogether.

"Master Fung, please wait!" Omi cried out, running ahead towards nothingness before stopping. "Where are you? What do you mean?!"

But Master Fung's voice had vanished, and the guiding light of the great, white abyss suddenly turned to a blackened void.

"Master Fung!" Omi again cried, before all around him was concealed in darkness.

**"_Omi..._"** A new, deeper voice called out.

"Master Fung?"

The voice seeped ominous vein. **"_Omi_._..!_"**

Expression and tone lowered to cautious distrust. "Who are you?"

**"_Omi!_"**

Omi covered his ears. "Leave me alone!"

"Omi, wake up for crying out loud!"

"Ahh!" Omi sat up straight in a rather large, cozy bed. He looked around the room, recognizing it as Clay's guestroom.

Dojo, the only other being in the room, stood by his side on the bed, eying him with a raised brow, hands perched on his hips. "Have a good night's sleep?"

Omi looked down at the covers, most disturbed. "I... had a dream."

"Oh yeah?" Dojo had to wonder. "What kind of dream?"

"I am not so sure." Omi answered, crossing his arms over his chest in contemplation. "But it felt veeery real."

"Uh-huh," An unimpressed Dojo idly replied, hopping off the bed and crawling to the inn table. "Well you can figure it out later, kid. Right now, you've gotta get up-n-movin'!" He tossed Omi his white and blue Xiaolin monk robes lying on said table. "Now c'mon, everyone's waiting!"

Omi perked up, looking to Dojo as his clothes landed in front of him. "Waiting? For me?" As Omi would look around the room, he noticed that even the non-present Jack's bed was vacant.

"Well sure," Dojo answered. "It's eight A.M. - Clay and Jack are already up and ready to go. Even Clay's family's ready to see us off!"

"I see...! It seems that I have slept for far too long!" Omi hurriedly hopped out of bed and dressed himself, as if the notion had just hit him. "Hurry, Dojo - we have much to do and cannot miss even a single minute of today!"

"Oh, well. Sorry for being so _slow_." A sarcastic Dojo slid out as Omi excitedly ran out of the room without so much as looking back. "Sheesh. Ya spend a lifetime as an alarm clock, and ya don't get so much as a 'thank you'."

But alas, such was the life of a Xiaolin guardian, and said guardian couldn't help but smile anyway. He followed without further complaint.

**x x x**

Super-amazing 'save the world' mission or not, eight in the morning was SO not his thing. But he supposed he could thank Wuya for the entirety of his morning's misery, her having incessantly nagged at him until he's crawled his way out of bed.

The peaceful morning atmosphere was cooler than what would've been expected of Texas from its exceedingly hot reputation, the sun just starting to peak over the distant horizon. While Clay's family was busy tending to the typical morning's chores - repair work mostly - on the front porch of the Bailey house itself stood Clay, Jack, and Wuya, conversation of the next step of the overall plan having circulated through the small group.

According to Dojo before he took off to find Omi, Kimiko would be the easiest to recruit next, considering they knew her exact location and what she'd been doing for the past two in a half years. Clay and Jack had little to argue about anyway, Wuya bent on nothing short of just doing _something_ instead of uselessly standing about.

Jack had to admit, he wasn't too keen on seeking out Kimiko. Not that he was real 'keen' on seeking out any of the Xiaolin losers to begin with, sure, but going off of memory from the past, out of all four Xiaolin Dragons Kimiko was the one who he remembered hitting the hardest. And man could she land a wicked kick. His jaw hurt just thinking about it.

He was pretty sure out of all his past mortal enemies, Kimiko was also the one who hated him the most. Overall, it really just reminded him how difficult this mission actually was. Omi and Clay were too dense to hate him to the point of refusing to work with him for some great, noble, heroic good-guy cause. But Kimiko? That girl actually had some sense. And dignity. She wasn't going to be as easy to convince.

But hey, at least he had chedderhead, hat for brains, and their flying pet dragon to back him up now. Because yeah, if it were just him and Wuya, Kimiko would be a _complete_ lost cause and he knew it.

...Still wouldn't make it suck any less. But it wasn't like he had a choice.

While Wuya was hovering on the other side of the porch, examining some random southern object with interest - probably just to avoid him because man, she'd been totally cranky since this morning, like cranky as in crankier than usual, what was stuck up her butt - Jack looked to Clay, who was just standing there, leaning against the wooden railing across from him and looking at the wooden floorboards of the porch, not seeming too enthused about the whole situation himself. In fact, he looked kindda bummed. What was this, 'everybody be weirder than usual day'?

"Gonna miss this place?" Jack idly wondered as he leaned against the outer wall of the house. From what he gathered, Clay was just bummed about leaving the ranch and his crazy family to go get himself killed in rural China while fighting some stupid random evil shadow monster, leaving behind a smokin' hot fiancé and life as a boring cattle rancher. Totally understandable.

"Huh? Oh..." Snapping out of his own thoughts and looking up, Clay shook his head. "Naw, ain't that so much as..." He cut himself off, looking back down. "It ain't nothin'."

Jack gave a skeptical look. "Riiight." Kung-fu cowboy was seriously hitting a new level of mope here. What a downer. He only shrugged. "You know, that girl you're gonna get hitched to, you could always just bring her with you."

Clay looked up again, pale blue eyes setting on Jack with a sort of curious look to them. "Ya mean Annabelle?"

"Who else would I mean?" Jack threw back. "What, you have more than one girl you're getting hitched to?"

Of course his snarky remark was only in defense of him not remembering Clay's fiancé's name... Yeah, he was that terrible. Rotten to the core and all that.

But Clay only gave a light chuckle, a humored smile crossing him that was already making Jack cringe with regret. "Aw, if I didn't know no better," The cowboy teased. "I'd say you were tryin' t' make me feel better, Jack."

And there went ever taking Buffalo Bill seriously again.

"Oh. Ohhh. I see what you're trying to do." Jack immediately accused, narrowing his eyes with broody grievance. "And it's NOT working. I was just pointing out the obvious, that's all." _Him_? Trying to make someone _feel_ better? HA! Last time he'll ever try to give some lazy, half-baked advice.

Seriously. This freaking guy.

The front porch's screen door suddenly burst open, Omi quick to arrive in all of his self-motivated haste... and not a moment too soon as far as Jack was concerned. The kid stopped upon seeing his friend and temporary allies standing there, Dojo slithering out after him with the wooden-frame screen door shutting behind them with a loud, clapping sound.

"And where have YOU been?" Wuya immediately hassled, floating towards them from her end of the porch while glaring at the late-arriving monk.

"I... overslept." Omi answered as he and Dojo approached the group, his pace lessened in arrival, ultimately deciding not to mention his peculiar dream.

"Pfft," Jack snorted from his end. "Maybe next time you won't stay up babbling all night."

"Yes..." Omi agreed, rubbing his round head as he drifted amongst his own thoughts, again recalling the uncanny dream. "Never again shall I remain awake beyond diligent Xiaolin monk sleeping hours. It is not good for one's mind."

Jack raised a brow to that. Jeez, it wasn't like he was being serious. Guess that was mark three for 'everyone act like a weirdo and weird Jack out day'.

"Have we decided who we should seek out next?" Omi questioned the group with sudden eagerness, frame of mind having completely altered course.

Clay and Jack exchanged glances. Jack gave an uncaring shrug of his shoulders before looking off in some random direction while Clay looked back to Omi. "Well, after talkin' some, Dojo thought it best we go after Kimiko." The Texan informed. "We know exactly where she is, so she'd be a hair easier t' find than Rai. Don't rightly know where he's run off to."

"Kimiko..." Omi tested the name in his mouth, then nodded. "Yes, this makes sense... I agree with your wise judgment!" Visions of the fierce Dragon of Fire swarmed through his mind, excitement beginning to bubble within him, his eagerness only growing. "When do we leave?"

"Now that _you're_ up," Dojo said, poking Omi in the chest. "We're ready to leave now." He looked to the burly cowboy. "How about it, Clay? Ready to get this show on the road?"

Clay turned to gaze off in the distance and into the vastness of his beloved Texan ranch, his family already hard at work on repairs, spread throughout the expanse in groups. A twinge of guilt couldn't help but hit with him knowing he'd be leaving his family with such a mess, especially on his own behalf... But his father had set him straight. He was a man, and he had responsibilities not just with marrying a beautiful, proper southern woman and raising an all-Texan family on a cattle ranch, but with saving the entire world so that these things - and so much more - _could_ happen.

With that, he turned back to Dojo and the others with a smile and tip of his hat. "Ready as I'll ever be, I reckon."

**x x x**

It didn't take long for the entirety of the Bailey family to assemble, of whom had all gathered to see Clay and his friends off, Clay himself offering his final goodbyes to the lot of them. A tearful mother and fiancé, a proud father, teasing cousins, a relentlessly nagging grandmother...

Omi and Dojo were also saying their own goodbyes to certain members of Clay's family, talk of the Minotaur battle, the late-night party, and future possibilities tossed throughout conversation. Even Wuya was busy being hassled by Jimmy the Kid, alongside other family members, her entity as a whole on par with Dojo's in being a rather strange phenomenon worthy of consistent pestering.

Jack, on the other hand, wasn't much for goodbyes and was content with hanging back from the boisterous crowd, leaning against the side of a pioneer wagon - yeah, they actually had one of those, this was that crazy of a place - the shade from such providing shelter from the progressively warming sun... and attention from the horribly fluffy farewells. So much hugging and hand-shaking... it was making him sick, impatience blaring within him to finally leave the one place in the world he'd sworn he'd never come back to.

But in all of Jack's anti-social grace, he still wasn't alone...

Throughout the loud, dramatic final farewells stood one member of the Bailey family who'd separated herself from the commotion just as Jack had, already having said her peace with Clay and now ready to expand her thoughts further.

"So. Y'all goin' back ta China once ya round th' rest a yer friends up," A thick-accented voice spoke beside Jack. "So y'all can do in that nasty shadow monster fer good. That th' story?"

Jack peered around the corner of the wagon to find none other than Jessie leaning on the backside, her gaze settled on the rest of the family even though her words were to him, her watching as they said their farewells; something she wasn't too terribly keen on herself.

Giving a small scoff, Jack followed Jessie's gaze in looking back to the others, laughter and mirth surrounding their tight group and Clay's family alike. "Psh, yeah right. First of all, these aren't my _friends_." He was sure to correct. "I'm just here to get the Xiaolin losers back together. After that, I go home, they take care of the 'evil shadow monster', the world's saved yet again, everyone's happy, the end."

"Hm." Was all Jessie replied for the moment, seeming to muse over such claims. She finally turned, looking to Jack directly. "So what yer tellin' me is, you ain't gonna fight."

Jack returned a rather inquisitorial, though ultimately indifferent look. Funny how that was all she got from his uplifting amendment. "Yeah," He laid in with shameless mockery. "I 'ain't gonna fight'."

"Yer gonna tuck tail n' run."

"I'm gonna have a _life_."

"An' abandon everyone fer it?"

"What!" His voice couldn't help but raise in pitch. "Okay, whoaa," He halted the quickly intensifying train before it derailed completely. "Let's get one thing straight here. I don't owe these losers anything. I don't owe _anyone_ anything. Got it, cowgirl?"

"Oh, I'm hearin' ya alright." Jessie said with little fazing, her voice matching the set tone. "But you jus' remember this, Slick," Her face scrunched ever-so-slightly, finger now pointed towards him in all accusation. "My big bro's got a life too. A real fine one waitin' fer him here. An' since yer th' one moseyin' down here, squallin' fer him ta come ta China with ya, it'll be YOU that I come after if somethin' happens ta him."

Jack could only stare at the overbearing biker queen, both an irritated and puzzled look on his face, as if trying to piece the world's most complex puzzle together and failing miserably at it, during which he had to wonder - why wasn't she bothering someone else with this? Why did everyone have to pick on _him_?

He ultimately gave a scoff with a good roll of the eyes. "Whatever," His crass self finally gave up, looking off in a different direction, more than done with this ridiculous conversation. "Bottom line is, it's not my problem. Which automatically makes me not responsible for anything. So there." Because yeah, that's _exactly_ how that worked.

"Hmph." Jessie grunted herself. "You better watch yerself, Slick." She warned, coming off the wagon's edge and walking off in taking leave. "A hard head makes a soft behind."

Still looking off in his random direction with Jessie's parting words, Jack blinked a few times as his brain attempted to absorb such a deeply intricate, thought-provoking statement of ground-breaking profoundness. "That doesn't even make any sense!" He finally broke with calling after her. "...There's nothing wrong with my behind!"

But Jessie was already gone, her large form sitting on her Black Viper motorbike, goggles pulled down and engine revved as she peeled out of the homestead, disappearing into the vastness of the great Texan desert without so much as a second glance back.

Jack grumbled to himself, completely unsatisfied with everything about that conversation. "Soft behind... no way." He sulked in typical whine, arms folded across his chest in overly-defensive defiance.

And then to make the morning _that_ much better, Wuya of all evil witch spirits - yeah, just what he needed right now - quickly hovered his way, by the old-timey wagon. Oh hey, was she done blatantly ignoring him now?

"Bah! I thought I'd never get away from that nauseating little cretan!" The witch complained. "He's been following me all morning! Like a little lost puppy!"

Despite her bitter-spat words, even Jack knew that some sick, twisted part of Wuya actually liked the attention Clay's family - or more specifically, Jimmy the Kid - gave her. And yet he was too tired and in too poor of a mood to call her out on it.

"Yeah-yeah, good for you." Jack dismissed. "Can we _please _go now? These people are giving my brain ulcers."

With the sudden departing of his little sister, finally it seemed Clay was ready to wrap up his farewells and take leave. He again offered his uncle and cousins firm handshakes and burly hugs, encouraged yet again to kick shadow monster butt for them, and to tell said shadow monster that if it ever shows up in Texas again, they'll be ready for it.

Aunt Hilda and Mrs. Bailey offered hugs as well, topped with proper advice to stay true to his southern heritage while on the other side of the world.

Clay Senior gave Clay a proper manly handshake. "You ain't no boy no more, hoss, that's fer sure." The large man said with swelling pride. "Ya make me proud, son. Just remember, don't be goin' back on yer raisin'."

"Don't worry, Daddy." Clay assured with a smile, firm in handshake. "Y' can take me outta Texas, but y' can't take Texas outta me." And with declaration came a final, beefy hug.

"Really wears the pride of the south on his back, doesn't he?" Dojo said, wiping away a tear as he slithered his way towards Jack and Wuya, an excited Omi in his wake. "Clay's dad must be so proud. It brings a tear to my eye!"

Jack gave a wondering look to Wuya. "Why don't we have-"

"-Because I'm not your mommy!"

And with that came a swirling gust of wind, Dojo having super-sized himself. "Hop on, kids!" He announced. "The Dojo Express is about to leave the station!"

Omi was the first to gleefully hop on the 'Dojo Express', a contrasting Jack already dreading having to again ride upon the undulating mystic dragon. But alas, he climbed aboard all the same, for when having to choose between undulating dragons and the clearly insane state of Texas... he'd effortlessly choose undulating dragons every time.

Seeing his friends ready to depart, Clay turned lastly to the blond-haired, brown-eyed damsel who was currently dotting her eye with her embroidered handkerchief. The cowbow rubbed the back of his neck with a stab of uncertainty. Perhaps with Annabelle lied the most guilt for leaving. Though they'd naturally talked just last night when everything had quieted down, Annabelle voicing her concerns of his leaving and even wanting to join him on his journey - prior to Jack's own point that morning, of course - Clay had to stand ground and assert that she stay there in Texas, if only for her own safety.

And with that memory, he made way over to his tearful fiancé.

It didn't take much for Annabelle to throw herself upon Clay, embracing him with all emotion, proper composure long forgotten. "Oh, honey-bear, must you truly go?" She lamented. "I'll miss you terribly! It'll be just awful!"

"I know..." Clay admitted, holding his future wife, who'd been decently accepting of his departure just yesterday. "An' I'm sorry fer leavin' like this. But I don't got a choice. My friends need my help, n' I can't just turn my back on th' world. I couldn't live with myself if I went n' did that."

Annabelle gave a sniffle, wiping away a tear. "Aw, fiddlesticks... I know that." She said. "I just can't hardly stand it is all. Are you good n' certain you don't fancy company?"

"I know it ain't fair... but your place is here, Annabelle." Clay affirmed once more to the disheartened woman. "I ain't gonna get anyone else involved; this's just somethin' I gotta do alone." Sensing still-dissatisfaction, he lifted a finger under Annabelle's chin, tilting her head up slightly to look him in the eye. "An' besides. I need somethin' t' come home to."

And that was all it took for Annabelle to fluster in romantic gush, a final parting kiss now taking place between her and Clay that made even Jack turn away with a blush, Omi alternatively soaking in every ounce of the ever-curious 'girl-kiss'.

Still looking away in all of his romantically-inclined awkwardness, Jack no sooner felt a shifting behind him, only to find Clay now boarding their mystical, flying ride.

"Woo-dogie!" Clay said, adjusting his cowboy hat with a grin, a big smooch-mark on his face. "What a woman."

And Jack couldn't have been more ready to leave. "Finally!" He aimlessly tossed out. "Totally over the land of insane Texans here." He gave a begrudging glare back to Clay, who still wore a cheeky grin. "...One's bad enough."

"Giddy-up, Dojo!" Clay shouted to their dragon companion, newly invigorated. "Th' sun ain't gonna shine all day long, ya know!"

Dojo pulled his long neck back and gave a steamy snort. "Do I look like a horse to you?" He couldn't help but complain. "You kids sometimes!" And with that, the flying dragon took to the sky, swirling upwards in a spiral formation, the rest of the team clinging to his elongated backside.

"Y'all come back now, ya hear!" Came Clay's mother's voice, along with the accompanying shouted goodbyes from the rest of the Bailey family, until they were officially out of sight and range of sound.

"What a wild bunch." Dojo mused as he flew through the morning Texan sky. He decided to keep the part that he was actually going to miss Clay's family to himself. "So Kimiko, huh? To Tokyo it is then!"

Omi slipped the Golden Tiger Claws onto his arm with a growing grin. "I cannot wait to see Kimiko again!" He couldn't hold back. "I am very much looking forward to seeing how a _girl_ might have changed over such a long period of time!" Obviously, Omi was still mesmerized by that 'girl-kiss'.

"Yeaaah," Even Jack had to agree, his own mind drifting off to accompany Omi's, visions of how Kimiko might have matured beginning to form as a wondering smile washed over. "She'll probably be taller."

Omi's grin persisted. "And wear a new style of girl-hair!"

"And have bigger-"

"Stay focused!" Wuya rudely interrupted, floating her way beside the pair. "We're going to Tokyo to convince the Dragon of Fire to come back to China with us, NOT chum around like you two imbeciles did here for days on end!"

"Nag-nag-nag," Jack motioned with his hands for emphasis. "Chill, _Wuya_. This is in the bag." He pointed a thumb back. "We got Clay to come back with us, didn't we?"

Wuya only folded her ghostly arms over her chest. "Hmph! Indeed. And because of your utter _slowness_ in doing so, an entire day was wasted here! Least you forget, that's one more day that wretched shadow has to grow in power!"

"Hey now, we got it." Clay reassured the evil witch from his end. "We'll be sure t' get Kimiko t' come back with us real quick-like. We still got Rai t' find, after all."

"Clay is right." Omi agreed. "We will be sure that time is made at a quickened pace with finding Kimiko!"

"Think he means, 'make good time'." Dojo offered.

Vigor blazing, Omi fearlessly ran along Dojo's backside, now standing on the dragon's head as he gave a good slash to the air. "Golden Tiger Claws!" He shouted, a portal ripping through space. "...I wonder if Kimiko will give me a girl-kiss too?"

And with that, again the large, flying dragon and its passengers disappeared within the mystical portal...

**x x x**

"What do you mean you can't _find_ him?" A seething, bitter voice scolded from the shadows.

Back on the other side of the world, at Chase's citadel in China, new developments were also taking place. Developments that Chase Young was hardly pleased with.

"He not in citadel." Vlad explained to Chase with a shrug. "We look all over. No bean or bird-bird to be found."

Le Mime nodded beside Vlad in vigilant agreement, Cyclops alternatively drooling in the background with a dopey smile.

The oh-so-bitter one turned from the three irritable minions he'd been forced to deal with for months now, pacing towards the back end of the room. "If that traitorous _bean_ thinks he can just disappear without word..." He stopped at an altar of sorts, a rooted, black expanse suddenly emerging from the ground to display a rather large eyeball, similar to that of a magical crystal ball.

Jabbing a finger at the eye, the image within it began to swirl with delirium. A picture began to form - that of a large, flying bird watching over a distant setting - until the picture faded into a void of darkness, cutting off entirely.

"Useless!" Chase swatted the cylindrical looking-glass with a sharp cry of frustration, it swinging back and fourth amongst its flexible roots, this hardly being the first time this infuriating affair had occurred. He then stormed down the chamber's staircase towards a different cause entirely, leaving Vlad, Le Mime, and Cyclops to all sink into each other with fearful cringes.

Chase Young was not happy...

**x x x**

So, as it turns out with the world being a spinning, round ball and everything, eight in the morning in Texas just happened to equate to ten o'clock at night in Tokyo, as the team soon learned with now finding themselves flying through the night-life of a thriving, neon-lit city.

"Well, Clay... you were right about the sun anyway." Was all Dojo had to offer.

"Gosh," Clay looked around at the cybernetic city. "So much fer gettin' t' Tokyo plenty early."

"It was morning just a moment ago!" Omi exclaimed, absorbing the new, technologically-advanced atmosphere in all its wonder. "And now it is night?"

"Welcome back to the other side of the world, kid." Dojo offered before taking a steep dive down from the darkened sky into the depths of the illuminating metropolis below. "Huh. You'd think we wouldn't have overlooked something kinda big like this..."

"These time zones are outrageous!" Wuya complained. "How are we ever supposed to get anything done!"

"Okay but for real though..." Jack too whined on his end, clinging to the steep-diving Dojo full-body style with a rather paled look, even for him. "...Seriously not used to this undulating stuff!"

Clay was sure to pull his beloved cowboy hat down tight...

"But where is Kimiko?" Omi questioned, looking around as if she'd be easy to spot in the middle of one of the most populated cities in the world.

"Tohomiko Electronics, remember?" Dojo answered, looking around himself. "Hmm... Should be around here _somewhere_."

Jack pulled out his phone from his back pocket, looking to the time. "Great, it's ten already." He said, holding back another urge to hurl. "Ughh- we're too late; Kimiko's probably already asleep." He was about to beg for them to just land somewhere, anywhere, but then the cowboy started rambling on about something or another.

"Don't go underestimatin' Kimiko now." Clay warned from a ways behind Jack. "Back when we were all Xiaolin monks, Kimiko could stay up later than any of us, even with Master Fung's strict sleepin' schedule."

"Oh, this is true." Omi agreed with ominous tone. "Kimiko would win maaany stay-awake games. Her eyelids would never put on weight!"

"Get heavy?" Jack had to indolently wonder.

"That too!" Omi indulged.

"Ah! There it is!" Dojo picked up pace, flying towards one of the tallest buildings in the area.

The building was steep, at least a hundred stories high, and structured with an intimidating sort of black and silver material, making it a cold sort of dark in nature. As Dojo flew to the cool, paved ground before the towering skyscraper, Jack was the first to flounder his way off the mystical dragon, not exactly landing on his feet, but again grateful for solid ground. Omi and Clay hopping off after Jack with much more dignity, Dojo shrunk back to his normal lizard-like size.

The lot of them looked up at the towering building before them, suddenly feeling incredibly small. Had to admit, it seemed a lot bigger from the ground-up...

The striking red neon lights from the towering building above, as well as other buildings with other such colors surrounding them, provided light in illuminating the group and their surroundings in a series of bright, eccentric tints. Needless to say, it was a vastly different atmosphere from the natural desert setting of rural Texas.

"Huh... think they're open?" Dojo wondered, observing the many lights within in the abundant windows of the looming skyscraper. "It _is_ almost midnight."

"Man, do you guys know _anything_ about urban business?" Jack mocked as he pulled himself together with what dignity he had left. "Of course they're _open_ - they never_ close._ That's the way these multimillion-dollar industrial corporations work." He nodded to himself with pompons pride in his fruitful knowledge of business an industry. But alas, whether Kimiko was actually still awake or not was another matter entirely... Which still really sucked.

"Good!" Wuya barked with a pleased smile. "Then there's no time to waste; let's go!" She eagerly floated ahead of everyone toward the main entrance before sensing a severe lack of followers. She turned around to find a hesitant Clay and Omi unmoving in pace. "What's wrong now?!"

Clay looked away, giving that same distanced look as before, memories of the past suddenly flooding back.

_"I wasn't too far away!" Kimiko's voice echoed through Clay's mind. "I knew you were closer to the field so I branched out a little!"_

_"I thought that you had things covered!" The voice continued still._

_The spite in the voice was piercing. "Then you should have called for help!"_

Omi was no better off, him too plagued by the distant past.

_"Just be quiet, Omi!" Kimiko's voice circulated around him. "You can drop the high and mighty act already!"_

"It was a tad different when I up n' left, but... well, when Kimiko took off back then," Clay started, gaze lowered. "We didn't exactly part ways on th' best a terms."

"I wonder if she will even wish to see us again..." Omi lowly wondered.

A calm city breeze blew by, techno music blaring somewhere in the distance amidst their silence.

...And Jack was only able to stand there with his mouth agape, simply and utterly appalled.

He couldn't believe this! After everything they'd been through since having first visited Omi back at the monk refugee camp, not once was this... THIS... mentioned! Not from Chase or Wuya after being forced to return, not after Omi's super-depressing spill or the attack at the camp, not after the stupid hick family dinner or the Minotaur attack, not even during the so-called sleepover - all the while listening to Wuya's incessant ranting about completing their grand mission and Omi's obnoxious rambling about seeing his friends again the _entire_ time - did he ever hear the first thing about the losers having some epic falling out and supposedly hating each other. These guys were unbelievable!

"Whoa-whoa-whoaaa, time out!" Jack put his hands together to form a T-shape. "You mean to tell me that after all this time," He turned to Clay "After having to fight some freaky shadow-bull on YOUR ranch and put up with YOUR crazy family," he turned to Omi with the same disheveled look, "and sleep through YOUR annoying rambling about seeing your stupid friends again - you're _just now_ telling me that oh wow, by the way, there's kind of a strained relationship problem here between you guys?"

Omi poked his two index fingers together and looked away as any guilty child would. Clay was just as unwilling to respond, hat shading his eyes.

Wuya quickly backpedaled in floating towards them. "Who cares!" She so sensibly reasoned. "It doesn't matter how things ended between you imbeciles, or what Kimiko thinks of you now! All that matters is that that Dragon of Fire comes back with us to help us defeat Persaeus!"

"Hey - cool it, would'ya?" Dojo came to the defense. "Look, 'ol Dojo's saw it all. It wasn't pretty, alright? It'll take a delicate touch to get Kimiko to come back with us."

"Bah!" Wuya spat. "How can she possibly turn down the offer of preventing the world from being destroyed! She'll have no choice but to say yes!"

"Or," Jack offered, still clearly incensed. "She could be just like Clay and say no, and have us stay for forever and do manual labor in some stupid old _barn_ as we desperately try to convince her to join us."

No. No, he wasn't going to let that one go.

"I doubt we're gonna find a barn here in Tokyo, Jack." Clay pointed out.

Jack threw his arms up. "It's like I'm talking to a gorilla!"

"Guys, guys!" Dojo again tried to settle within the growing tension. He turned to the two Xiaolin dragons. "Listen, I know you're a little antsy about the whole seeing Kimiko again thing," He said, having actually foreseen this possible setback. "But the old hag's right. We don't really have much choice here!"

"Who are you calling _old hag, _lizard!"

"We need Kimiko and besides," Dojo continued without falter. "It's been _years_. You'll never know how she really feels unless you go and talk to her, right?"

Clay and Omi looked to each other in all of their united uncertainty.

"I do admit..." Omi was the one to offer. "I very much wish to see Kimiko again."

Clay nodded. "Same here, pardner. We at least gotta try t' explain what's all happened... Set things right."

And so it was. It wasn't exactly without flaw, but with everyone on the same page again, the group of five finally entered the great expanse of the Tohomiko Electronics building...

**x x x**

The tension and boundless drama from before had simmered down a fair degree. Clay and Omi still harbored insecurity, no doubt, and Jack was similarly still harboring what he harbored best: broody whining. It seemed like every other moment he was being fed some new bit of information that he hadn't known before, and would have been totally helpful to have known before. You know, _before_ he set out on this magnificent, fairly impossible mission.

In any case, here they were now, in a ridiculously huge electronic software corporation's skyscraper-high headquarters searching for the third component of an ever-complex equation.

The receptionist had been helpful enough, directing them to the 87th floor... after having demanded identification and state of purpose. Somehow they'd managed to get by with the quick-thinking of Dojo, who convinced said receptionist that they were distant relatives of Kimiko, twice removed, and were there to inform her that her great, half-step-aunt was on her death bed. It was only right that her relatives be the ones to break the news, naturally.

And thus, soon enough the gang had found themselves in a glass elevator, watching as the world below became smaller and smaller, the landscape of the neon-lit city accompanying them on the ride upward.

Omi's entire body was pressed against the glass as he gazed out at what all Tokyo had to offer, a sight far removed from the simple, peaceful lifestyle at the Xiaolin Temple in rural China.

"Tokyo sure is a big city, ain't it?" Clay observed as he too looked out at the scenery, also far from his natural element.

"Oh, yes!" Omi agreed. "Perhaps it is even bigger than all of China!"

"...Jus' not as big as Texas." Clay was sure to underline.

"Yes, well. Not to put a damper on things, but..." Dojo looked around the elevator. "We got a game plan here?"

Omi pulled his face from the glass, looking back to the dragon. "We are playing a game?"

The elevator was crawling upwards, escalating numbers flashing by on the virtual screen above them. The 87th floor would be reached soon.

Game plan? All Jack could think was wow, they were sunk. So the losers all left on bad terms or whatever, huh? Great. With Kimiko already hating his guts and now this with the cheezeball and Deadwood Dick totally having screwed things up, was there even a _chance_ that Kimiko would come back with them?

"The game plan is simple!" Wuya tossed out. "With the Shen Gong Wu at our disposal, we cannot fail!" She turned to Jack. "You still have it, don't you?"

Jack shrugged. "Have what?"

"The Indigo Pyramid, you buffoon!"

Oh, right. _That_ thing.

"Must you _yell_?" Jack twisted a finger in his ear from such vocal assault right next to him, only gaining a cantankerous leer from Wuya. "Yeah, the thing's still here." He reassured, pulling said 'thing' out of his jacket pocket and examining it with all contempt. He poked at it some. "...Not that I'll ever use it again. Thing's seriously defective."

"Argh!" Wuya let out a frustrated cry. "If you aren't going to use it, then give it to someone who will! ...And _can_."

"What! No way!" Jack immediately rebelled, turning the Wu away from Wuya defensively. "Clay already took the Bullhorn Blazer, Omi has all the cool Shen Gong Wu like the Golden Tiger Claws," Both Clay and Omi looked to each other and shrugged. "And if I lose the Indigo Pyramid, Chase'll kill me!"

"_Hmm_, that's funny," Wuya swayed with probing eye. "You didn't seem too worried about that when you handed over the Falcon's Eye to Omi! _Twice!_"

"Uh... Those were totally different situations." Jack threw out in losing defense. "Besides, weren't YOU the one who was all, '_Blaaah, don't use the Shen Gong Wu because they're unpredictable and Chase will be maaaad and ooooh_." His mocking went unmatched, satirizing around with dramatic flair.

"Ah, well..." Wuya was then the one to fluster. "Different situations."

A pause came over the two, each having lost in their own respective battles, both now just standing there dumbly.

"Gee," Clay offered with observation amidst their relatively small confinement. "Looks like even th' Heylin side got some skeletons sittin' in th' closet."

Indeed. It seemed that after everything overall, the situation with the Shen Gong Wu, alongside interpersonal motives, was still something of a mystery. It really just proved Clay's point that despite the shadow monster primarily attacking the Xiaolin side, the Heylin side was just as clueless and at a loss of where things stood and what to do with what little they knew. So much was unknown, uncertain, or just plain sketchy, and really, they were all pretty much in the same creaky boat here, good and evil alike.

"Do not fear, my faithful companions," Omi was sure to encourage the team, sensing doubt. "For although our ordeal is troublesome, together with our combined wisdom and strength we-"

And he must have tuned the cheezeball and his heroic evangelizing spill out, because all he heard now was "blah blah good guy stuff blah". Meanwhile, as everyone was desperately looking up to the slowly-passing floor numbers in hopes of it saving them from Omi's tireless encouragement, Jack was busy wondering if he'd actually have to resort to using the Indigo Pyramid again, like Wuya suggested...

**x x x**

Not too long had passed before a dinging sound suddenly interrupted all word and thought within the large elevator, the 87th floor having finally been reached. And as the elevator's luxurious doors slid open, a room befitting of a cybertronic business-warrior now stood before them.

The group coming to exit the elevator and slowly enter the large room, all were left gawking. The huge expanse of a room had shiny, glass floors with blue neon lights constructed underneath, the walls littered with equally decorative touch. Strange, technological mechanisms sat about the area from place to place, promotional posters stood tall and proud, the atmosphere overall a cold and distant one with a highly-advanced industrial air. In the distance and within one's own mind, one could possibly hear the estranged sound of techno-rock blaring, the syncing beats wild and free...

So high-tech. So advanced. So sophisticated and modern.

Clay gave a whistle as Omi ran up to the first advanced object he could find, walking around it with examining wonder. "Whew, sure is..." The cowboy paused in both word and motion, vocabulary unable to pinpoint a worthy adjective. "Well, it's rightly impressive anyway."

"I'm in Heaven." Jack dreamily swayed, on the verge of tears after having spent the past two days in uncivilized hell. As everyone spread out in observation, Jack wonderingly paced up to a large, flat-screen computer monitor, promotional commercial images dancing across it, Kanji text excitedly gliding across the bottom. He pressed himself against the huge screen, a distanced, desperate look on his face. "I didn't think I'd ever see civilization again!" He wailed. "_Please_ let me stay here!"

"You are SUCH a whiner." Wuya predictably hassled, continuing to float beside him.

"Ahem. And just who might _you_ be?"

Snapping back to reality, the group stopped their individual investigations around the room and came to look upon a tall, formally suited Asian man with short, black hair and thin-rimmed glasses standing in the center of the room, his arms held studiously behind his back, expression less than pleased as the blue neon lights below the glass floors illuminated his sharp features with an equally sharp hue.

Around the room a good dozen formally-suited men now stood as well, sunglasses covering their eyes despite the indoor, blue-toned atmosphere, their expressions blank as they stood still like statues in guarding the sealed doorways leading to other supposedly restricted areas of the facility.

"Hey, those uniforms are pretty sweet." Jack had to admire, breaking away from the monitor before looking back towards the rather imperious-seeming man standing in the center of the room.

It was as if the man's cold and distant aura hit them like a brick wall with paralyzing effect, his hawk-like eyes alone able to pierce through one's soul and terminate everything about them. It sent a chill up everyone's spine... But luckily they had one member of their group who drove on through pure goal-orientation alone.

"Hello, strange and scary man." Omi bowed before said man, having abandoned his self-given tour. "We are looking for Kimiko. Might you direct your finger towards this path?"

"'Point us in the right direction', I'm guessin'." Clay offered, making his way towards the two more evil-inspired members of their group.

Jack had nothing. "He's even worse than before!" He gestured to Omi with outstretched arms. "How'd that even happen!"

The man narrowed his sharp eyes with thorough evaluation as he looked upon the bizarre, small boy before him. "Do you have an appointment with Miss Tohomiko?" He curtly asked, ignoring Omi's strange lingo, for better or worse.

"Appointment?" Omi questioned with tilted head, blinking in utter confusion.

Jack slapped a hand to his face. "Okay look, uhm... s_ir_?" He finally stepped forward to join Omi, seeing just how well _this_ formal exchange was going, pushing the clueless monk to the side to take center-stage. "It's a kinda long story, but we're Kimiko's friends and came all the way from China-"

"Texas." Omi corrected, peeking from behind Jack.

"_Texas_." Jack mockingly corrected with dramatic pause. "-To see her. We just need like, ten minutes here tops."

Going off of instinct alone, it seemed the group was content with _not_ rolling with the 'bed-ridden auntie' routine. Unlike the ditzy receptionist on the first floor, this man seemed a little more... aware, perhaps?

The man stood there, narrow eyes seeming to sum up the entirety of the group in all his vocation. "Friends of Miss Tohomiko, you say?" The suspicion in his voice was more than evident.

Clay was the one to return questioning disposition, stepping forward himself now. "We've done said who we are... so if y' don't mind my askin', Mister," He began with polite touch, stopping in pace and tilting his hat upwards to get a better look at the 'strange and scary man'. "Who're _you_?"

The man raised a hand to adjust his glasses, eyes closing. "Hm. You may call me Mr. Kandori." He finally introduced himself, as directed. "I am President of Tohomiko Electronics, under none other than CEO Kimiko Tohomiko."

"Whoaaa, _really_?" Jack was taken aback. "Kimiko's CEO of the company now? The _whole _company?"

"What is a C-E-O?" Omi again questioned, still peeking behind Jack and still very much out of his natural Xiaolin monk element.

"It stands for 'Chief Executive Officer'." Dojo tried to explain, curling himself around Omi's shoulder. "It's like a boss of a company... _Top_ boss."

Mr. Kandori took a small moment to examine Dojo as he explained the big, wide world to Omi, before turning to look to Wuya, yet another strange entity in this... equally strange group.

"But what about Kimiko's Papa?" Clay was quick to question. "I thought he was th' one that ran this here business?"

Mr. Kandori turned his attention to the questioning cowboy. "Indeed," He answered. "Mr. Tohomiko has recently retired and left his thriving company in the care of his one and only daughter, Miss Tohomiko."

Clay rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, well uh... that's fair, I reckon."

And Jack was somewhere else entirely. So Kimiko was in charge now, huh? And this guy was second-in-command...

"Heheh, sweet," The teen genius rubbed his hands together, deep within his own world of mischief, before coming back to reality, looking to Mr. Kandori. "So hey, how about this - I'm a man of law myself. Maybe me and you could sort something out and-"

"I don't think so." Mr. Kandori prematurely answered before turning away.

"Jack. You're horrible at making deals." A suddenly-appearing Wuya badgered, floating up beside him. "You should stop now before you hurt yourself."

"No fair!" Jack whined. "...I didn't even get to finish!"

"But, as a pres-i-dent," Omi again spoke, newly informed via Dojo and stepping towards the mysterious man. "What is it that you do?"

Kandori's gaze snapped back to the young monk. "I have been a dedicated employee of Tohomiko Electronics for four years now," The man had no problem clarifying, indulging that information at least. "And it is MY job to see this company rise to the top electronic software company in the industry." His eyes narrowed to the group. "It is also my job to deal with lesser matters regarding the company, such as seeing that insignificant problems like annoying children don't bother Miss Tohomiko."

"Annoying children?" Omi questioned.

With a sudden, crisp snap of his fingers, the assorted suited men around the room amassed behind Mr. Kandori. "In other words, you should leave." The man advised. "Immediately."

"Ohoho - I _like_ this one!" Wuya gushed, floating ahead. "Such conviction! Such force!"

Jack, on the other hand, was quick to take pace backwards, hands held in front of him with a nervous laugh. "Ooookay, sure, no problem!" He easily gave in. "Leaving, you got it!"

"We will _not_ leave," Omi persisted, standing ground as his determined look challenging that of Mr. Kandori's. "We came to see Kimiko. No, we _MUST_ see Kimiko! The fate of the world depends on it!"

"Guards," Was all Mr. Kandori said.

The suited, sunglasses-toting men had surrounded them, and like an unforgiving wall of a raging ocean, crashed against their group as they were forced back towards the elevator from which they'd come.

"Okay, so maybe we could, I dunno, talk about this first-" Jack tried to reason... before he was hit by the wave of suits and promptly manhandled back towards the elevator. "Hey-hey-hey, watch the hair!"

Omi fought back with a somewhat restrained touch as he too was forcefully evicted. "No, wait! You do not understand!" He tried to reason, words only falling on deaf ears. "We must speak with Kimiko as soon as possible!"

"Friends of Miss Tohomiko..." Mr. Kandori scoffed to himself with all indignation. "As if Miss Tohomiko had time for such absurdities."

"So, Kandori, was it?" Wuya effortlessly instigated with her turn to forge a deal, floating beside the exacting man as his army of suits curtly jostled the rest of the rag-tag group towards the assumed exit. "You seem like a smart man of discipline. One worthy to be my underling! We should join forces, you and I!"

The icy man turned to the ghostly apparition floating before him, evidently unfazed by the unnatural phenomenon. "You're transparent, it seems." He observed, her words irrelevant towards his own goals. "How problematic."

Meanwhile, the rest of team 'why can't we do anything right' was still being forced to retreat.

"Clay, DO something!" Dojo so desperately insisted to the biggest, strongest member of their group whilst trying to worm his way out of a single suited man's grip.

But Clay gave no effort to such cause. "Sorry, Dojo." The cowboy apologized, instead allowing himself to be shoved towards the elevator. "It's a policy a mine t' not stay where I'm not wanted, an' it sure don't look like we're wanted here."

"What! Since when do cowboys have policies!" Jack threw out. By now he was willingly backing up, hardly the type to challenge such force himself. He turned to their last hope. "Hey, cueball, feel like doing one of your water attack things any time soon? Like _now_?"

Omi only shook his head. "I... cannot."

Indeed. Even Omi was adamant about outright attacking normal human beings. As a Xiaolin monk, he too had a policy to not attack civilians - a strictly forbidden action. It was only evil that he could raise his hand to and fight without mercy. Even if these guys were total jerks, they were not evil... and he could not fight them, even a little.

And thus, it seemed all hope was lost. After warping through space, flying through the great expanse of Tokyo, and climbing the ridiculously high corporate tower, it seems their journey to recruit Kimiko was to end in utter and complete failure before it had even begun.

So then perhaps it was the ever-persistent fate that spared that moment alone with what came next.

Across the large, formal room two metallic doors slid open with an electrical whoosh, a figure now standing in its midst. Long and lean in frame, silky black hair winding to the waist, striking cerulean-blue eyes...

"What in the world's going on in here?" The figure questioned, that familiar voice cutting through the unruly room, blue neon lights illuminating the new and obvious presence.

Everything stopped. Silent, still moments passed.

"Ah. Miss Tohomiko." Mr. Kandori was the one to speak, turning to the figure in the doorway, blue tint reflecting off his thin glasses to hide sharp eyes. "Sorry to have disturbed you. We seem to have had a bit of a... _intrusion_, if you will."

The curvy figure placed a hand to the hip, suspicion making pace forward. "What? What kind of intrusion?" But as cerulean eyes scanned the static area, the back of the room suddenly revealing its contents, all was soon answered of its own accord. Well, generally. Body stopped and eyes suddenly widened after a few hard, disbelieving blinks. "I... _Guys_?"

"_Kimiko!_" Omi burst with sheer glee, still in an 'I'm about to be hurled like a bowling ball into an elevator' position within one of the suited men's grips.

Everyone else was left stiff or dumbstruck. The suited men were still in awaiting order, and the group that consisted of semi-heroic dealings was frozen in surprise.

It seemed that they'd found Kimiko after all, and perhaps - just perhaps - it was a start.

* * *

Wow. Kandori's kind of a douche, huh.  
I totally see the suited men all MIB or Matrix style.  
2 geek 4 this


	17. CH5: Red Rose Tokyo, PT2

**CHAPTER FIVE: RED ROSE TOKYO**  
**- [_PART 2_] -****  
**

I'm failing inferential stats again.  
I have no words.

* * *

Whatever super-special-important business meeting had been going down in that super-special-important back room, it was long forgotten by now. Now Omi, Jack, and Clay found themselves in a lengthy, head-honcho's business office of one of the largest business corporations in all of Japan. All that was missing was a certain, evidently highly-acclaimed CEO.

Suited bodyguards stood watch by the only two exits of the formalized office space, the entire western wall plated with thick glass in showcasing the grand city of Tokyo in all its illuminated nighttime glory, whilst the large office itself was illuminated in a bluish sort of tint from the overhead lights fairly brighter than the first room had been. A single titanium desk stood in the center of the office, a comfy sitting area in front of it.

Omi had found himself content with taking siege upon the rolling office chair, a small bowl of complimentary mints setting upon his lap that had once been so properly placed on the coffee table amidst the formal sitting area. They were already halfway gone.

Jack had taken to the left end of the black leather clientele couch, lazily watching Omi happily spin around the room in the revolving chair as Wuya floated her ghostly self about in examining the room, her having stopped to take interest in a particular unseen picture on the office desk faced opposite their direction.

Dojo sat in the middle of the same couch as Jack, and Clay alternatively took to the right end, only instead remaining standing with being unsurprisingly uncomfortable in such a formalized environment, not to mention a tad bit uneasy with so many shady, suited bodyguards standing about with ever-watchful eyes.

Obviously Kimiko stood in high regard around here, who'd seemed fairly surprised earlier.

_"Kimiko!" Omi burst with sheer glee._

_It didn't take long for Kimiko to order her loyal guard dogs to cease their mass assault. But even when the chaos had simmered down and she had come to her friends, she'd seemed more curiously concerned than heartily thrilled.  
_

_"I... wasn't expecting you guys so soon."_

_"I am sorry, Kimiko. We did not mean to cause you trouble." Omi apologized. "...We merely wished to see you."_

_"No, that's not it." Kimiko was quick to offer. "It's no trouble, I just..." She stopped, seeming to become suddenly aware of the external environment surrounding her, suited men awaiting order and foreign business affiliates awaiting settlement. "I... have some business to tend to..." She looked back to the group. "But if you'll wait, I'd really like to talk to you guys."_

And so here they'd been for half an hour, waiting in Kimiko's extensive office whilst Kimiko herself finished dealing with her interrupted business operations and whatever else they'd managed to screw up in their short time there. Talking about Kimiko and their plan of action amongst themselves was impossible with the loyal suits present, and if it weren't for Omi having a good time in the spinny office chair with the small bowl of mints, the whole situation would have become somewhat unnerving. Jack was successfully distracted anyway.

"Hey cueball, stop hogging all the mints."

Omi continued to spin around, the chair rolling past the stiff clientele couch. "You should have gotten them while the getting had at one time been good." He happily popped yet another mint in his mouth. "Which is not this time."

"Careful there, lil' pardner." Clay warned beside a grumbling Jack, firm hand resting on the back end of the couch. "Y' eat too many of them mints an' ya might get a stomach ache."

"Oh, do not worry, Clay," Omi reassured with a confident smile, again rolling back to the other side of the room. "For my stomach is of most perfect constitution!"

Electronic doors suddenly swooshed to an open, silence spread, and heads turned back in direction.

Finally their objective of the hour had come.

She was much easier to see without the overwhelming chaos from before. She'd grown taller, more limber and developed, silky black hair longer and currently worn down without restraint, thin bangs covering pale forehead and shaping sparkling eyes. Light, more matured makeup covered her face alongside a form-fitting tanned business suit covering her slim body, including a stylish formal blouse, tight knee-skirt, and high heels.

Suddenly entering the room, Kimiko's presence alone instantly took command, her first act being to unvoicingly wave the suits off to depart. It'd become standard for her to be surrounded by at least two formally-trained bodyguards 24/7, the growing competitive market fairly violent at times - especially during lengthy, high-tension corporate meetings. It wasn't always easy remembering that such affairs weren't normal to the average person. But let's face it... her guests of today were anything but average.

"Sorry guys, the room's a bit of a mess," The young businesswoman began, her slender form crossing the room and setting a fairly thick stack of folders on her office desk. She flipped an unseen picture down on its face. "Haven't had a chance to clean up, it's been so busy lately."

From what the group could tell, all completely fixated on 'new Kimiko', the place wasn't a mess at all.

"It is not a problem, Kimiko, our friend." Omi was quick to reply with a big, almost eerie smile, rolling his way back towards and stopping beside the couch. "Nothing you could do could ever be so bad as to need to apologize for that action."

"Oh. Um... okaaaay?" Was all Kimiko could grant through a rather uncertain look, watching as Omi proceeded to spin side-to-side in her office chair.

"Must be hard keepin' up with all that business stuff." Clay decided to pitch in and cover, breaking his gaze from the suited guards leaving the room to Kimiko, offering a sincere southern smile. "I know I sure as heck couldn't do it."

Kimiko gave a light laugh, her attention now with Clay. "Hah, thanks. But it's not like I do everything myself or anything. Kandori really helps me out with the small stuff - the finer details mostly."

"Who, 'tall, dark, and cranky'?" Dojo couldn't help but criticize, still stiffing out his crinkled tail. "Yea, seemed like a real swell guy."

"Aww, I'm sorry, Dojo." Kimiko couldn't help but give a sympathetic smile, coming to lean back on the front of her desk, blue-tinted light from the huge computer monitor behind her illuminating distinct features. "Kandori _can_ be a little... over-vigilant at times. But he's not a bad guy. He's just trying to do his job."

"Do his job indeed." Wuya rubbed her ghostly hands together with a shrewd grin as she came to float beside the formalized, stiff couch. "I'll bet I could convert such a dutiful man to evil cause given proper measure."

"Preeetty sure he turned your ugly face down." A neighboring Jack noted, snatching and popping a mint in his mouth as the quickly-depleting mint bowl rolled by.

"Oh? I wasn't aware you'd taken notice," Wuya's eyes lifted scathingly to the air. "Especially considering how you were busy screaming like a_ little girl_ the entire time."

Jack coughed up a mint.

"Err... Thanks fer seein' us, Kimiko." Clay spoke again, softly adjusting his cowboy hat. "We know yer busy n' all, but we really wanted t' come talk to ya."

Kimiko's expression fell a bit and it reminded Jack of the moment she'd suddenly entered the other room to save their mangy hides from being permanently evicted from the premises just half an hour ago. At the time she'd seemed surprised to see them, sure, but also like she was looking around the lot of them, as if scanning the area for something else; something not there that _should_ have been there.

It was a fleeting moment. Her smile was quick to return, hand on her hip, long hair trailing down her back. "Are you kidding? I'm glad you guys came." She paused, a somewhat bemused look taking place. "Well you, Omi, and Dojo I can understand coming here to see me anyway," Cyan eyes then drifted to a certain self-proclaimed genius, hip cocked out with a raised eyebrow. "But _Jack Spicer_?" The way the words rolled off her tongue almost made it seem like the name was coated with some sort of grimy sludge best kept at a healthy distance.

Jack quickly straitened from his slouched position. "Hey-hey-hey, I don't wanna be here any more than you want me here." He was quick to defend, hands raised. "I'm just following orders."

An interested smile crossed the young woman. "Orders? From who, Wuya?"

The mentioned floating entity gave a good scoff. "Oh _please_."

And Jack wasn't exactly sure where to start. "Uh, well... not exactly?"

It seemed it was time to relay the "it's-a-long-story"-ridden message yet again.

Chair rolled to a halt once more. "Kimiko, there is something we must tell you." Omi was the one to brave. "We have come here to Tokyo to see you because-"

"I know why you're here."

The puppy-like head-tilt was inevitable. "You... _do_?"

"You're here because of the shadow monster, right? Because it came back."

"How in th' world did ya know 'bout that?" Clay had to wonder, hat tilted upwards to reveal curious eyes. Kimiko was spot-on, as always.

"The web, of course." Kimiko easily explained, holding up her new prized PDA with a glittering smile. Her gaze shifted upwards in thought, lowering the device. "Plus, that visit from Chase Young a few months ago sort of tipped me off."

Omi nodded with unquestioned understanding. "I see... Yes, that would make sense then."

"Whoa, hey, _what_?" Jack immediately halted, stiffly propping himself up on the couch in apparently being the only one having a problem here. "_Chase_ came to see you? For real?"

"Yeah, the slimy creep." Hands wrapped around thin arms, chills washing over. "It was like three months ago. Big-evil was waiting for me in my room one night. Completely avoided the security system and everything."

"Yeah, the guy can be a real creeper sometimes." Jack had to admit, school bathroom memory forever branded upon his scarred mind.

"So what'd Chase tell ya?" Clay wondered, leaning deeper onto the couch with interest.

Kimiko shrugged. "Really just about the shadow coming back - called Percival now or something."

"Persaeus." Omi corrected, absentmindedly popping another mint in his mouth.

"He said that he wanted me to come back to China with him. To reunite with you guys and Rai so that we could all fight it together."

"And you said no?" Dojo wondered.

"Of course I said no." Kimiko was quick to answer, head snapping back their way. "It was obviously a trap. Like I would actually to go with Chase Young, evil lord of darkness, back to China when I'd just taken over as CEO here." Her face dropped slightly. "But... after he left, I did some research myself. Networking mostly... And I found that it was true. The shadow monster really _had_ returned."

Well. It explained how Kimiko knew why they were there anyway. And normally this would be the point in which Omi would step forward and give one of his adorable recruitment speeches, full of friendship and duty and purpose and destiny. Instead, he just sat there, staring off into space, apparently in his own little world - which could only mean that someone else would have to pick up the slack.

Too bad Jack wasn't one for conviction speeches. At least not since the dreary Xiaolin monk campground escapade anyway. "Well that's just great." His broody self whined, instead turning to Wuya. "Did you know about this?"

Wuya turned away with a chary smile. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

She _totally_ knew what he was talking about.

"About Chase coming here to try and bring Kimiko back! And telling her all that crazy stuff! And-" Idea suddenly sparking, he stood from the couch and turned to Clay and Omi. "He came to you two losers too, didn't he?"

With that, Omi seemed to snap out of his daze, both he and Clay looking to Jack.

Clay shook his head. "Naw. Ain't no one come 'round th' ranch after I up n' left. Not since you n' Omi showed up yesterday afternoon anyway."

"I..." Omi poked two fingers together as he remained sitting in the chair, sheepish smile forming and voice growing a reserved sort of high-pitch. "Might have had a small visit from Chase Young a short time ago."

A clearly surprised Dojo stiffened, blinking a few times. "You _did_?"

Point for Jack. "Called it." He fell back on the couch.

"He came to see you too?" Kimiko wondered with widening eyes. "But you were already in China, Omi... Weren't you?"

"Yeah, and why didn't you ever say anything?" An equally curious Dojo now probed. "I mean, did you at least tell ol' Guan?"

Now being thoroughly analyzed and shamelessly interrogated by the entire room, Omi seemed on the fringe of a double-edged sword, torn between answering and not answering his given questions.

As Wuya had known and Jack had found for himself, Omi had resigned from his Dragon status to live as a simple monastery monk in being so disheartened from past events, yet having nowhere else to go. So of course Chase had come to him, and of course Omi had said no to Chase's offer, just as he had to Jack and Wuya's at first. Seemed his friends had never gotten that memo. Lucky for Omi Jack was too hasty and bent on something else entirely to care for an answer, stealing the show instead.

"I can't believe Chase never said anything." The slouching teen threw out from his end of the couch before turning to his would-be partner. "I can't believe YOU never said anything."

"Oh, stop your whining!" The ghostly culprit spat back. "We keep you on a need-to-know basis. That's all you need to know."

"You know, this mission would go a LOT smoother if you'd actually tell me like, half the stuff I apparently _don't_ know."

"Wonder if Chase came t' Rai too." Clay was then the one to muse, hand to his scruffy chin in thought. He looked to Wuya, obviously the new answer-machine for the hour.

"Hey, yeah, good point." Dojo agreed, everyone else following lead to look upon the small, floating witch now too.

Wuya inertly floated there for a good moment before the growing hint finally hit. "I don't know!" She hastily tossed out. "I... didn't pay much attention to what Chase was doing at first. I had my own complications to deal with after having been reduced to _this_ miserable state again!"

"So Chase is the one giving you orders then." Kimiko confirmed for herself, eying Jack. She'd been silently listening to the obviously tousled group for a good while now, having come to understand the situation much better within her own personal standing. A small, intrigued smile crossed her. "I have to say, Jack, I didn't think you'd ever come back to the Showdown world."

Jack coughed, gaze drifting off somewhere in precipitate aversion. "Uhhh. Yeah, about that. I, uhm..." And for some reason it was suddenly harder explaining ridiculously stupid circumstance a third time around.

"Jack Spicer has only come back temporarily." Omi voiced instead, having hopped off his stolen office chair to set a newly-emptied mint bowl back on the coffee table. "Chase Young had convinced him to return to seek out and reunite us Xiaolin Dragons with Wuya's help so that we may forge a Xiaolin-Heylin alliance to defeat the evil shadow monster, Persaeus - though Jack has a _new_ life now that he wishes to return to when he has completed such a task."

And Jack had to say, he was oddly surprised.

"Oh, really?" Kimiko questioned before giving a humored smile. "Well, I guess that makes both of us then. Having different lives to live and everything."

"Yeah, reckon we've all gone n' gotten ourselves new paths t' walk now." Clay agreed.

As Clay and Kimiko then proceeded to catch up towards small changes between their past lives and lives of today, Jack snuck a probing-eyed peek to Omi, who had also begun pitching in the conversation, telling of his own insights in seeing how Clay had changed after spending a night on his ranch. Why he never told him about Chase's mysterious and apparently unknown visit to try and recruit him he'd never know, though supposed that little spill of his was some sort of payback for offhandedly covering for him all the same. Huh, maybe what he'd said the other night really _had_ gotten through that freakishly huge skull of his.

"Still... an alliance between the Xiaolin and Heylin sides..." Kimiko began to muse, back on subject. "I don't know, guys... don't you think that's kind of shady?" She looked to Jack and Wuya. "I mean, the Heylin side isn't exactly known for its record of honesty and trustworthiness, you know."

"What reason would you have to mistrust us?" A sly Wuya floated to front, smile present. "We've a common goal to prevent the world's untimely destruction. What more is necessary for an alliance between such loathed, bitter enemies?"

Kimiko only folded her arms over her chest with a cocked hip. "You may have been able to convince Omi and Clay of your oh-so-noble intentions, but I still have my doubts. If it's one thing I've learned as a Xiaolin monk it's that the Heylin side is evil, and evil doesn't play by the rules."

And that was what Jack had been afraid of - Kimiko's evidently unique ability to use her brain. "She's got a point." He had to admit, looking to Wuya. "We _are_ kind of horrible."

"But," Kimiko added, breaking her gaze to the floor. "I'm going to come back with you guys anyway."

Omi's eyes widened with delight. "You are?!"

"Of course." Kimiko gave a soft smile to the young monk. "I was the last Dragon of Fire, so I have to. I've actually been expecting you guys for a while now."

Dojo rubbed the back of his head. "Huh. Guess that was easier than we thought."

Smile dissipated, dark bangs overshadowing eyes. "I just have one question."

"What's that?" Clay wondered.

Kimiko looked to Omi, to Dojo, and then to Clay. Her brows furrowed ever so slightly. "Have you guys tried to recruit Rai yet?"

Team Xiaolin exchanging uncertain glances, team Heylin apparently on the unknown outskirts, Dojo was the one to finally speak up. "Raimundo's last on the list since he's the hardest to find." The dragon explained. "We were gonna go fetch him after you were on board."

"...Oh." Was all Kimiko said.

Clay studied their suddenly distant colleague. "...You okay with that, Kimiko?"

Head snapped upwards. "Huh? Oh yeah, totally!" Kimiko gave a bright smile, batting the question off with her hand. "I was just curious, that's all."

And no one challenged her on it.

Jack blinked a few times, the strange, uncanny air suddenly having gotten all thick and weird. "Ooookay. Well. Now that _that's_ all sorted out," He stood, straightening out his jacket collar. He thrust two thumbs back. "Time to go."

"Yes!" Wuya eagerly agreed. "The faster we find the pesky wind-monk, the faster we can return to China and defeat Persaeus, and _I_ can be flesh once more! Muahahaha-!"

"Uhh. Right. I still have a few things to take care of." Kimiko informed, walking back around to the other side of her desk and picking up the office phone, offering a knowing smile to the gang. "I've been expecting you guys and everything, but there's still a few loose ends to tie up before I can just leave."

"Yes, we understand!" Omi nodded happily. "Do not concern yourself with us, Kimiko, for we shall wait patiently for you to complete whatever tasks you have yet to complete."

"Right, thanks." Kimiko smiled, dialing a few numbers into the phone. "I'll have Kandori show you around the place while I finish up. It's the least he can do after what happened earlier."

**x x x**

And so despite any and all protest, here they were, escorted by the possibly coldest, most emotionally-dead man in the entire world as they explored the deepest, darkest depths of the multi-million dollar electronic software company skyscraper.

"And this is our testing facility." Mr. Kandori spoke, stopping in a fairly darkened room - the overseer's lounge - at a huge glass window that showcased the inner workings of their systems tech operations, advanced machinery and lab-coated technicians working away within the shown chamber.

Omi stood on his tip-toes, face pressed against the glass and Dojo wrapped along his shoulders as they both examined the bright, curious chamber in wonder. "That is a very big room!" The young monk observed. "It is much bigger than I remember!"

"Ah. Yes. Miss Tohomiko said you had been here before." Kandori mused to himself, hands held behind his back as he too peered within the populated area below, sharp eyes hidden behind thin glasses reflecting chamber light amongst their dimmed atmosphere. "I'll have you know there have been significant changes made since you were last here."

"Why does that not surprise me." Dojo lightly mumbled.

Omi turned to the man. "What kind of changes?"

"Do tell." An eager Wuya encouraged.

And whilst Kandori explained certain changes in policy, mainly in reminding them that being supposed 'friends' of Kimiko meant absolutely nothing to him in regards to how he ran operations within the company, Jack was currently surreptitiously studying some sort of new video-distortion apparatus off to the side, incontestably disinterested in the tour in favor of catering to his own curiosities.

Falcon's Eye to his right eye, he examined the internal composition within the fairly large, strange device on the other side of the room that covered the entire wall, it's familiar yet peculiar contrivances both interesting and confusing. It had the basic layout of any working machine, his immodest expertise from the past and secret passion of today sure to aid such broad insight, but its high-tech appliances stood apart from anything he could ever afford and thus thoroughly dissect, evaluate, and manipulate. He could gain nothing from the unseen software that lied within its programming, naturally, but from the external hardware, from what he could tell it was a control console of some sort, and telling from the god-like motherboard at the heart of the system, whatever it administrated and reigned over, it was huge. It was at this point that he realized that wow, nice cover-up job, but this thing wasn't just some random console. It was a full-blown mainframe computer. He immediately began poking and prodding at it.

Clay, who'd been fairly silent and distanced the whole tour, gave a completely absorbed Jack a tap on the back.

Jack jumped with a startled squeal before abruptly turning to the cowboy. "What!"

Clay gave a good look over to their hardened tour guide and the rest of their team in self-reassurance that they were busying themselves, then back to Jack. "Wanted t' talk." He said. "'Bout Chase Young."

"Oh." A suddenly dispassionate Jack went back to toying with the gadget. "What about him?"

"Kimiko said Chase came t' see her, n' so did Omi... t' try n' get 'em both t' join up with him t' defeat th' shadow monster... n' we don't yet know 'bout Rai." Head lifted to reveal wondering eyes. "But he never came t' try n' recruit me."

"Yeah? So?" Jack tossed out, pitching an apathetic hand up without turning around, much more interested in the fact that the mainframe was apparently operating through a live program via a super massive wired network. In other words, something big was _online_.

"Back when you n' Omi explained everything t' me, you said Chase was th' one who made ya come back t' try n' reunite us." Head turned to gaze in some other direction. "Did he... say anything 'bout tryin' t' do that himself? Reunite us, I mean."

Jack stopped his fidgeting investigation for a brief moment, it hardly being easy to concentrate when being hammered with stupid questions. He let out a grumbling sigh. "Look, when Chase _forced_ me to come back - and by forced I mean like, he was going to rip out my spine if I didn't - he held this big evil council thing where he explained that you losers split after some epic defeat and it was suddenly _my_ job to bring you all back." He went back to fidgeting, hands gliding over cold cybernetic machinery as if in search of something. "No one said anything about Chase trying to do it himself."

"Not even Wuya?"

"Yeaaah... I'm pretty sure Wuya isn't really in the loop." Jack spun a finger in the air. "Doubt she knows anything about it either."

"Huh..." Clay rubbed his chin, eyes downcast in thought. "So from th' sound of it, Chase came t' try n' reunite us, failed, and then resorted t' usin' you t' do it instead... But that still don't explain why I was left out."

Meanwhile, back on the other side of the room...

"And _how_ long did you say you've been working for this company?" A suspicious Dojo questioned, still within the conventional side of the tour.

"Four years." Kandori recited, easily sensing suspicion. A certain glint came to his eye. "But perhaps you'd be more interested in hearing of Miss Tohomiko's esteemed achievements during your time apart."

And the group challenged nothing in the deterring answer, Kandori's words as accurate as his confidence strong.

Kandori adjusted his glasses, taking that as a 'yes'. "Miss Tohomiko had always been Mr. Tohomiko's first choice in taking over Tohomiko Electronics, his prized company he'd built from pure scientific genius alone. The company so many of us put our entire lives into seeing flourish and thrive amidst the harsh corporate world." Visionary memory of such a tale burned deep within the man's soul, expression suddenly darkening; the most emotion they'd seen from the guy. "But Miss Tohomiko was never interested in running a business, nor was she interested in taking over her father's corporation. She declined Mr. Tohomiko's offer to sign the company over to her name time and time again, adamant in resigning her responsibilities and position as a Xiaolin monk."

"I... never knew this." Said an enamored Omi.

"As time passed, Mr. Tohomiko eventually wished to retire due to personal reasons." Kandori continued. "The company needed an heir more than ever; someone to take Mr. Tohomiko's place. Yet Mr. Tohomiko trusted no one. Competition was thus high for not just the position of CEO, but in complete ownership of Tohomiko Electronics."

The intensity behind Kandori's recited tale showed all too well.

"Passions ran high, I'm assuming." Dojo commented off to the side amidst the newly avid air.

"Finally an heir was chosen. Tension settled. Yet only a short time thereafter - two and a half years ago - Miss Tohomiko suddenly returned to Japan, her time as a Xiaolin monk having been officially terminated." Kandori's typically stern expression didn't so much as blink. "You could imagine Mr. Tohomiko's excitement. The offer was made once again, despite an heir already having been chosen - someone who'd put everything they had into this company's success and cared about it's future more than anyone." His words seemed to be laced with what would appear modest rancor. "This time, however, Miss Tohomiko accepted the offer, and _she_ had became the new heir."

High-pitched alarm suddenly rang, interrupting the tensely-told story and stealing the entire room's attention. Red lights blared to light up the cool, dim overseeing chamber. It was as if the legendary doomsday device had been activated, all hope for humanity forever lost.

Jack backed away from the mysterious mainframe computer he'd been shamelessly fondling, small red button beside a label that read "DO NOT PUSH" in big, red font left in a pushed-down point.

"Oops."

"Jack, you buffoon!" Wuya immediately raved.

Just as quickly as the chaos had ensued, in only a split second the alarm was off and the flashing red lights had ceased, and on the other end of the room stood none other than Kandori, hand on a pulled switch that now held a downward position, normality having suddenly resumed.

"Don't touch that." The stern man insisted without falter, adjusting his glasses - evidently quite the habit - as he glared to the troublesome teen.

Jack only gave an innocent, forced smile... before Kandori turned his attention elsewhere, leaving Jack ample room to childishly mock his backside.

"What was that?" Omi questioned, gaze locked on Mr. Kandori.

"A simple precaution." The man answered, adjusting the formal wrist cuffs of his suit. "We have quite the security system installed throughout our facility... One of our finer investments." Kandori began his march towards the other end of the room. "Now, if you please," He stopped at the assumed exit; two large sliding doors with illuminated neon bordering. "There is but one more sector I'm to show you."

Omi, Dojo, and Wuya all followed behind their esteemed tour guide, exiting the room. Jack walked past a still-standing Clay.

"Hold on a sec'..." Clay started, still clearly burdened by severe lack of information.

Jack stopped with a dramatic exhale. "Just wait and see what happens when we go to Rio." He shrugged. "You don't know, maybe Chase didn't come to Raimundo either." He followed after the departing group, disappearing beyond the next sector.

Clay stood in place for a moment. "...Yeah, I reckon." He had no choice but to agree, scratching his head. He followed behind.

**x x x**

"This is the most amazing room my eyes have ever seen!" Omi was the first to run past the group and into a large, iron-themed chamber, footsteps clanging with the steel-netted flooring. "What is this? Oh, and this?" He ran to the cold railing lining an open, depressed center of the room, looking down to a huge cubic mechanism below. "And what is _that_?"

"Ahem. Miss Tohomiko specifically requested I show you this sector," Kandori spoke as he entered the cold, windowless room, tone lowering to a rather tetchy level. "...against my own counsel, I might add."

"What in blue blazes is it?" Clay wondered, the last to curiously step into the room, unsure whether to take more interest in the assortment of perfectly organized cybernetic paraphernalia lined along the long stretch of the circular walls, the bulky command station looming above them, or the three-dimensional platform surrounded by floating translucent screens in the middle of the technologically depressed circular basin.

"If you recall, Tohomiko Electronics is an electrical software development company. Virtual gaming being a specified branch of such a broad industrial field... and a branch in which Miss Tohomiko finds great interest... this particular room is designed specifically for an exceptional, highly exclusive project that-"

"It's a video game - awww, sweet!" Jack now loitered over the railing, looking down to the virtual mechanism below.

Kandori let out a single, deflated sigh. "Yes... a highly exclusive project that... is a video game."

"Bah! What a useless waste of technology!" Wuya spat. She cozied closer to an eternally indifferent Kandori with an impish, beaming smile. "I'm sure with someone like _you_ in charge, such devices would be put to _much_ better use."

"A video-game... Oh yes, I remember the many adventures of Goo-Zombies very well!" Omi happily commented, still hanging on the railing now beside Jack. "The video-game world is most wondrous! May we pleaaaase play this curious game of yours, Mr. Kandori?"

Kandori came to stand along the railing beside the eager, young group. "This particular video game is a digital distortion emulator, otherwise known as a virtual reality simulator." He peered down to the glowing cybernetic platform below. "It is Miss Tohomiko's personal design of two years; her greatest and most prized project. It is, however, still in the beta-testing phase and thus off limits to 'playing'."

Clay paced a few steps along the iron-netted floor before stopping to tip his hat upwards, of which Dojo was now sitting upon, and looked up to an enclosed mezzanine amongst the three-floor room. "Kimiko's been workin' on this thing fer two whole years?" He wondered.

"Huh. That's a pretty long time," Dojo commented above Clay. "About as long as you kids've been apart. _And_ since she, ah, took over the business."

"Hm?" Kandori tapped a hand to his wired ear, pausing for a small moment. "Understood. Stand by." He said to no one in particular, then turned to the group. "It seems I've business to attend. Your tour ends here."

Omi dropped down from the railing. "You are leaving us?"

"I am." Kandori answered as he briskly paced across the chilled room towards the exit, stopping at the familiar sliding doors. "You're free to do as you wish, courtesy of Miss Tohomiko. I strongly advise against doing anything... rash, however. Good day."

And the man was gone, sliding doors closing behind his grand exit.

"Kind of a stiff, isn't he?" Dojo couldn't help but remark.

"He's absolutely perfect." Wuya continued to dreamily gush.

Clay slightly adjusted his now heavier, Dojo-adorned hat. "Well... what do y'all reckon we should do now?"

Dojo gave a few good thoughtful nods. "My guess is we've still got a good while before Kimiko will be ready to leave, which means we'll... hey... wait a minute... where'd Omi and Spicer go?"

Meanwhile, below the bordering railing in the center of the room...

Fingers slid over virtual keyboard, translucent screen flickering past panel after panel of cybernetic information. "Beta test nothing..." One excited genius' voice rang. "This baby's _so_ ready to run!"

An accompanying Omi looked to Jack with wide, excited eyes. "Does this mean that the video-game is playable after all?"

Jack returned a proud smirk. "Heck yeah it does!" He entered an encrypted confirmation key. "This is wicked how much detail this program's got. Just look at all these self-modifying source codes!"

Omi jumped up and down on the glowing red center platform, having not understood even a single word other than 'yeah'. "Oh, this is so very exciting!"

"JACK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"

Both Jack and Omi looked upwards to see Wuya, Clay, and Dojo peering down to them on the other side of the cold steel railing.

"Chill, _Wuya_." Jack easily dismissed, batting the ever-nagging witch away from afar with his hand. "If anyone in this room knows anything about digital distortion emulators, it's me."

"I guess this is where the geek out phase comes in." Dojo mused.

"Jack says that Kimiko's new video-game can be played!" Omi happily explained to his leering friends. "And I so veeery badly would like to play it!"

"Yeah, we're gonna test this baby out for Kimiko." Jack added. "So make yourselves useful and beam us in with the command processor through the registry."

"Th' what now." Clay scratched his head.

Jack pointed to the highest point in the room; the closed-in mezzanine directly behind the upstairs group. "The _control panel_." His condescending tone droned.

"NO!" Wuya immediately opposed. "We are NOT going to waste time here playing useless _video games_!"

"Gotta agree with the cranky witch on this one." Dojo admitted. "Pretty sure that Kandori guy's last words were to not do anything crazy... stupid... daft..."

"Rash." Clay pitched in. "Look fella's, I dunno 'bout this..."

"Oh come on, what's the worst that could happen?" Jack persisted. "It's not like we don't have time here. I mean, who _knows_ when Kimiko'll be done with all her techy business stuff."

Group B appeared to be unfazed by such tactful reasoning.

Jack of group A thus gestured to Omi. "And just look how badly the cheezeball wants to play!" In which Omi gave the biggest, widest puppy-dog-eyed look he could possibly muster. "You can't _actually_ say no to that face, can you?"

"Uh." Was Clay's insightful response.

"Gotta say, I _am_ kindda curious as to what all Kimiko's done in two years time." Dojo had to admit. "This _is_ her big project, after all."

"What!" Wuya spat.

"Pleeeease, Clay, just this once?" Omi proceeded to beg, Dojo now hinting at submission. "It will be very, very fast and we will be most careful and if anything were to go wrong we will immediately stop and-"

"Alright, alright already." Clay finally gave in, defensive hands risen to settle the eager monk. He turned to look to the mezzanine behind him and gave a very small, interested smile. "Reckon it won't hurt none."

**x x x**

"So there's nothing you can do to fix it before the launch date?"

At a large conference table within a settled conference room sat an assortment of business executives, each a personal affiliate of a highly-invested project.

"It's a bug. There _is_ no 'fixing' it." Kimiko voiced, sitting at the head of the long, dark table. "I can edit and revise the formatted code - stabilize the system - but as far as the actual program goes, it's no worse off with a full-blown _virus_. I need more time."

"Time is what we _don't_ have." One affiliate commented.

"Perhaps you should explain this 'bug' of yours further?" Another advised.

Kimiko took a deep breath, eyes closing. It seemed she had no choice. "In the last quarter of the third closed beta test we experienced what _should_ have been a systems crash." She explained. "But there was no real crash; only a huge distortion ramification within the original program that directly altered the script."

"Script?" Someone questioned. "...Ramification?"

"The script is the heart of the program." Kimiko elaborated. "At first we thought it'd been manually modified. But with further investigation we found that wasn't the case. That alteration was due to the self-modifying source code."

The assorted business executives exchanged unsure glances.

"...Which means?" One dared to ask.

"The program has basically developed a mind of it's own." Was Kimiko's stark interpretation. "Maybe now you can see why we're calling it _unstable_."

Surprised, intrigued, and suspicious whispers circulated the conference table.

"Look," Kimiko began again, seeing clear discernment amongst her high-standing business affiliates. "No one wants this project off the ground more than me. It's my baby. What's going to be my life's work." She shook her head. "But there's just no way that's possible right now. It's way too risky to launch, especially in public beta. There's no telling what could happen if we run it through full script again."

"And how are you currently addressing this issue?" Was her next question.

"My team's already hard at work." Kimiko assured. "Like I said, this is my number one project. There's no way I'm letting this go. We've already found the source of alteration, after all. All we have to do is go back to the root of the program and re-script it."

Of course she'd keep the part of how doing so was fairly impossible to herself.

"Fair enough." An executive stated. "And you will be here to do so? To... 'address' this evidently dangerous bug in the program?"

"Of course." Kimiko lied. "I'm not going anywhere."

**x x x**

"I can't _believe_ you bumbling idiots are actually catering to this... this... _absurdity_!" Wuya continued to rant within the enclosed control panel, Clay and Dojo having drowned her out by this point. "We _should_ be finding Kimiko and _leaving_!"

"Hey, hat for brains, the heck's taking so long up there?"

Jack and Omi stood on the glowing center platform in the depressed center of the cylindrical, tiered room, features illuminated by the red hue of the surrounding translucent screens, red-tinted complimentary visors covering their eyes.

Wuya peered down to the platform and shouting teen below in unquenchable spite. "Then again... perhaps this is an opportune time to get rid of _Jack_..."

"Do you need assistance, Clay?" Omi also shouted up to his overseeing friend. "We are most ready to be launched into the video-game now!"

"Hold yer horses," Clay shouted back as he looked over the advanced, completely foreign control panel in all of its absurd complexity. He blinked a few times, fingers twitching. "Jus'... gemmie a minute here."

"Ooooh, I am so excited!" Omi chirped, satisfied with Clay's competence in his assumed job. "I have never been _inside_ a video-game before! What do you think it will be like?"

"Like I'd know," Jack held, still glaring up to the control panel. "Guess we'll find out in a _hundred years or so_."

"Hey, Clay, I think this is it!" Dojo pointed to a translucent, virtual screen with a highlighted input code.

"Yea, that's gotta be it." Clay paced over to the screen with little other direction. "Huh... well that's sure funny." Eyes squinted as he looked over the strange technological anomaly. "Th' password's already in there. Did _you_ do that, Dojo?"

"What? How would I know the password?" Dojo shot back. He shrugged. "Someone probably just forgot to log out or something. Lucky day, huh?"

"Reckon so." Clay agreed. He put a hand on the nearby physical lever, pulling it downward, as instructed in the manual he and Dojo 'skimmed over'. "Alright guys, here she goes!" He shouted in warning, submitting the pre-inputted code on the translucent screen in official initiation.

The screen flickered. Flaked. Turned a series of different colors. Clay and Dojo backed away.

Below the control panel and around the glowing platform a cylindrical, plasma-based force-field suddenly shot up from the ground, encasing both Jack and Omi. A high-pitched whirling sound filled the newly enclosed chamber, the red force-field beginning to rapidly circulate around them. They looked to their bodies as they began to slowly materialized into virtual pixels that floated upwards within the sealed chamber.

"Ohhh man, this is too sweet." Jack couldn't help but fall into eager anticipation.

"We shall see you on the other side, friends!" Omi waved up to group B before his entire body had pixelized, both he and Jack having completely vanished into a different realm entirely...

* * *

And such is the world Kimiko lives in.  
For some reason, it's actually really fun writing Kandori.  
What's going to happen next part, you ask?  
Stuff. Lots of stuff.


	18. CH5: Red Rose Tokyo, PT3

**CHAPTER FIVE: RED ROSE TOKYO  
- [**_**PART 3**_**] -**

Summer school was a real trip, guys.  
I think my anus broke.

* * *

The unnaturally darkened sky overcast the steely citadel in a gloomy wave of ominous vein, red and purple storm clouds pulsing ever closer across the rural expanse of China.

"We're running out of time." Chase bitterly spat more to himself than anyone else in the immediate area, standing along his citadel's outside terrace, intently fixated on the escalating atmosphere. "That fool was right. We've even less time than I thought."

He could feel them below the summit. Swirling and writhing and growing in number – in _power_.

Katnappe watched the immortal man's backside with a curious sort of discontent, sitting comfortably on the edge of the long, torch-lined terrace. "You think he was telling the truth?" She questioned, not seeming too terribly interested as she absentmindedly licked her paw. "The bean's known for his twofaced tactics, after all."

Chase let out a low, searing growl. "Whether he is or not, Persaeus will expand further soon. I can feel its influence swelling like a festering infection. We'll likely have to deal with such first, regardless of Hannibal's... ambiguous intent."

It'd perked her interest anyway, Katnappe looking up from her feline task to enquiringly examine the warrior's backside.

Chase had put the citadel on lockdown since Hannibal's little escapade they'd had to deal with; been even more on edge than before ever since. Until the Xiaolin Dragons returned and an official alliance was forged, no one was to enter or leave the citadel, least they face Chase's vicious wrath.

And Katnappe could only wonder; what did all of this mean for them. For the Showdown world. For the world itself.

...And why was it she even cared in the first place.

**x x x**

Jack and Omi had materialized into a computer-generated reality just as quickly as they'd dematerialized in the real world, now finding themselves looking upon a virtual city resembling that of Tokyo itself, the very cybernetic city they'd been flying over earlier. The completely unpopulated streets and buildings were lined with a cyan-blue neon boarder, the sky a series of purple and red networking constellations, advanced beyond anything reality could offer.

Jack looked over himself with immediate fanboy glee, finding his attire covered in a red neon outline, red visor still covering his eyes, Omi beside him similarly yet inversely outlined with yellow neon, his transparent visor of an equally golden hue.

"You were right, Jack!" Omi chirped beside him, examining his new digital form. "Kimiko's video-game _does_ work!"

"Of course I was right," Jack unashamedly bragged with a proud smirk. He popped a thumb back towards his fabulous self. "Told you; digital distortion emulators are what this super genius is all about."

A virtual screen suddenly emerged in front of the two digitalized gamers, protruding from a transmitting wristband around Jack's wrist, immediately gaining a good shriek from the once boasting super genius.

"Hey, guys! You're in!" Dojo's face popped up on the screen. He turned to a neighboring Clay, patting him on the shoulder. "See, Clay, told ya everything would be fine."

"Dojo! Clay!" Omi looked upon the transparent screen, seeing his two friends still at the control panel within the real world. "Yes, we have made it inside the video-game. It appears to be a big glowing city! Though..." He looked around. "There are no people. Only roads and buildings that glow veeeery bright."

"Looks pretty technical in there." Clay observed as he inched closer to his end of the screen. He took a small moment to look over himself. "...Wonder what color I'd be..."

"Okay, it says here that there are levels in the game, and there's a 'key' in every level." Dojo read from a scripted, non-published manual. "The goal of the game is to find each level's key."

Omi looked up in thought, a classic golden skeleton key coming to mind. "A _key_?"

"These keys appear to be 'key cards' that'll unlock virtual doors and give you access to the next level." Dojo continued.

"Key card. Right." Jack snapped a finger. "Simple enough. So where's the key for this level?"

"Well... that's kinda the point of the game." Dojo answered. "It doesn't exactly tell you _where_ the key is. You gotta figure out where it is yourself – and it could be _anywhere_!"

Omi's eyes grew wide, absorbing the huge cybernetic space. "That could take forever plus another day!"

"Don't worry, says here there's hints all over the level that'll point you in the right direction." Dojo added, finger lining along printed words. "You just gotta find them until you find the key!"

"We can still see ya in there, even if ya can't see us." Clay added. "N' we can talk t' ya too through those transmitter doohickeys on yer wrists." He waved a gloved hand. "Well. Good luck, y'all."

The virtual screen disappeared, the transparent image of both Clay and Dojo receding back into Jack's transmitter doohickey.

Omi and Jack looked to one another.

"We can bury more earth if we do the splits." Omi suggested. He pointed to his transmitter doohickey. "As Clay said, we can still talk to one another by using our glowing bracelets!"

"They're wristbands!" Jack quickly amended as if horribly wronged in some way. "Don't call them bracelets, it's super lame."

They did indeed split up, Omi taking to the east and Jack to the west, and did indeed cover more ground in doing so, as Omi had so hopefully attempted to articulate. As they explored the digitally simulated city, they'd come across hints leading them towards a particular direction, Dojo and Clay sure to stay on the lookout as well from their administrative position. Surprisingly, along the way they'd both also managed to gain certain virtual abilities.

"They're called 'power-ups'." Dojo explained as Omi tested out his new Speed Dash ability he'd just found. "Apparently they're littered all throughout the level. They'll give you guys cool abilities – like super powers!"

Clay tapped a finger to his chin. "Hmm. These power-ups sound a lot like Shen Gong Wu." He observed. "Y'know, minus th' Shen Gong Wu."

"Yeah, maybe Kimiko was inspired by the whole Xiaolin Showdown thing." Dojo nodded before dramatic, teary-eyed gush hit. "Glad to know she didn't completely forget about us!"

"This is aaaaweome!" Jack shouted as he jumped from one sky-rise roof to another, having found the Power Jump power-up. "Hahaha, it's like I'm flying!"

Wuya suddenly came to hover over the control panel. "You imbeciles are _still_ playing that infernal game?" She continued to rant, watching the monitor to find both Jack and Omi running around different sectors of a virtual city, following 'guiding hints' and gaining 'power-ups' as Dojo and Clay played 'great administrator'. She was immediately repulsed. "This is SUCH a waste of time!"

"Well, speakin' a time... we still got pleanty t' kill." Clay only shrugged. He offered a smile. "C'mon, it ain't so bad, is it? I mean, it's pretty fun, n' nothin' bad's happened yet."

"Hmph!" Wuya only scoffed, folding ghostly arms across her chest. "I care not for your absurd game-playing! And I won't cater to it any longer! I'm leaving!"

And the witch was gone, having floated through the nearest wall. Dojo and Clay only looked to one another and exchanged shrugs.

She wasn't exactly missed.

"I believe I have found the key!" Omi's voice happily exclaimed, his yellow neon form now standing on top of a similarly neon billboard where a large, rotating card-shaped access key sat with an infused bar code.

By this point Omi had found another power-up, the Barricade Barrier, of which he'd immediately questioned its purpose. Why would he need a defensive barrier in such a peaceful glowing city? Jack had similarly found another power-up on his end, the Beam Blaster, of which he'd immediately began using to blow up random buildings as he continued to jump around, sure to exclaim that this was _exactly_ what he needed in the real world. Unlike Omi, he'd never questioned why he might need such an offensive ability.

"Watch out," Dojo warned from his end. "It says here that once you grab the key, it'll spawn a 'boss battle'."

Omi tilted his head in confusion, hand already merging through the access point otherwise known as the translucent key-card. "We must battle a boss?" He wondered. "As in one of these... C-E-Os we talked about earlier?"

Jack stopped jumping, coming to a halt on a roof near Omi's location. "Wait, we gotta fight something?" He looked to the Beam Blaster latched onto his arm. "Oh, yeah – I'm gonna dominate with this baby!"

A large, circulating portal ripped a hole in the middle of the virtual city, a giant suddenly emerging from it. It was a beast – a two-legged lizard-like creature of cybernetic construction, outlined with a green neon boarder. It gave a mighty, emulated roar as a huge, green laser beam shot out of its huge, sharp-toothed mouth.

"You won't be able to advance to the next level until you defeat it!" Dojo instructed. "The power-ups you guys got earlier should come in handy!"

Jack looked on in wonder at the rampaging beast now blowing up buildings itself with its laser-beam roars, the buildings pixilating in their destroyed disintegration. "Giant cyber-lizard destroying virtual Tokyo..." He mused, tapping a finger to his lip. "This reminds me of a movie..."

The translucent key card Omi had found rose in the air, glowed a bright hue, and then dropped back down in the form of something else entirely; a cybernetic sword.

"Ah! I now possess the ability of the Shockwave Slash!" Omi voiced, giving a few good slashes with the blue-toned cyber-weapon to test it out. "This will be most useful in defeating the rampaging monster C-E-O so that we may advance to the next level!"

Newly readied after clearly vital reiteration, Omi sprinted from the billboard to the roof of a building, jumped from said building to scale another construct as he dodged a huge laser beam that'd ultimately destroyed said construct, and gave one final leap in lunging after the oversized boss itself. "Shockwave Slash!" He cried, swinging his glowing blue cyber-sword multiple times as blue shockwaves emerged to hit the beast.

The beast gave another fierce, electronic roar before firing another laser beam at Omi, who'd just landed to the ground. With his Speed Dash power-up still in his arsenal of new abilities, Omi was quick to dodge the attack, but too distracted to regard the swishing lizard-like tail that'd come back to backlash him, hurling him into a virtual building that began to pixilate in digital destruction.

Omi sat up and rubbed his head, blinking blearily. "Ow?"

"Oh yeah," Dojo spoke up again. "This being a virtual reality simulator and all, it's designed to be as real as possible, pain included."

Omi was quick to jump back to his feet, sword readied once more. "I see! I will quickly end this boss battle with the C-E-O then!"

"Take this, robo-Godzilla!" Jack shouted, now in on blasting his own beams at the monster with his Beam Blaster, said monster giving into more angered roars. Jack stopped, now balancing himself on a lamppost along the neon street. "Hey wait, the pain thing. Does that mean that we can really die too? 'Cause as cool as it'd be to die by video game, I still got a ton of stuff I need to do."

"Like talk to girls?" Omi wondered, giving a few more Shockwave Slashes towards robo-Godzilla.

"_No!_" Jack childishly shot back perhaps a bit too reflexively. He looked up. "Well... maybe a little." A serious pause came over the self-proclaimed genius, a few blinks initiating before a look of utter horror completely consumed him. "Ahhh, that's right! I forgot to call Cindy!" He panicked, both hands coming to pull on digital red hair. "Oooh man, she's gonna be sooo upset! I gotta call her!"

"Cindy?" Clay wondered from the control panel. "That yer girlfriend's name?"

"Spicer has a girlfriend?" A suddenly perturbed Dojo's expression twisted, having stopped his topic search of 'mortality' throughout the oh-so unofficial game manual.

"Nooooo-" Jack droned on, newly slumped. "She's just a girl that's a friend, okay! A... a friend-girl! And now she's gonna hate me forever!"

Another enraged beam suddenly fired his way, Jack sure to quickly scamper away last minute with a typical elevated-pitch scream.

**x x x**

"Do those fools know _nothing_ of priority?" Wuya ranted to herself, aimlessly floating throughout the facility with little regard towards direction or cause. "What _morons_! What... what _buffoons_! What—" She paused, coming to a floating halt in hearing a distant conversation infused with familiar voice. "Oh? What's this?"

She floated through the nearest wall, saw Mr. Kandori and a few suited men discretely conversing with one another, and instantly backpedaled back into the wall, coming forward only so half her small ghostly form was shown.

"Precisely." Kandori's stilled voice rang amidst the small group. "I've been waiting for a situation such as this for quite some time. They have impeccable timing."

"They're outsiders. And the program is still unstable." One suit voiced. "They could be trouble."

A new stiffened suit quickly paced towards the group, giving an equally stiff bow to Kandori. "Miss Tohomiko's proclaimed _friends_ have entered the Simulation Complex." He informed his boss. "They're progressing through the first level as we speak."

A cold, callous look came over the formal company President, ever-dark in presence. "Good." Was his low-toned response. "It won't be long now."

"And the plan once they activate the virus?" The first suit questioned.

Mr. Kandori turned, adjusting his glasses. "...We shut them all down. _Permanently_."

Wuya quickly receded completely back through the other side of the wall. "Aha! I knew that shrewd man was up to no good!" She spat... before her wicked eyes turned to that of heart-shaped orbs of fangirling gush. "He truly is an evil inspiration~"

**x x x**

"Barricade Barrier!" Omi shouted, a transparent wall lighting up with blue hue only when hit with the relentless fired laser beams from robo-Godzilla. When a shattered, breaking-glass sound was heard after a final laser beam hit, Omi was quick to dodge out of the way, his defensive power-up in need of a serious recharge. "Speed Dash!" Omi again yelled, quick to make way towards the monster's backside. "Jack! My Barricade Barrier must re-charge once more! You will have to distract the C-E-O again!"

"Yeah-yeah whatever, I just need outta this game!" Jack shouted back, firing more beams at the still-undefeated boss with his Beam Blaster. "I gotta make a phone call!" Unlike Omi, he'd deciphered that unlike using Shen Gong Wu, you didn't have to call out the name of your ability every time you intended to use it. He ultimately decided to keep that small fact to himself because wow, that was kinda funny.

"It's HP – ahem, that's hit points – is three-fourths gone!" Dojo called out. "Keep it up, guys, just a little bit more and you're on to the next level!"

"We are very close to winning!" Omi said with all vigor. "Shockwave Slash!" He called out, charging at the beast again. He wondered why Jack wasn't calling out his ability names - it was very much fun to do so!

Wuya suddenly emerged from the back wall of the mezzanine where the control panel and its two current administrators sat. "You IMBECILES!" She shirked, making both Clay and Dojo give into pained cringes. "Stop your video game playing this instant!"

"Oh, you're back." Dojo offered, twisting a finger in his ear. "Just in time – look, Omi and Jack are about to beat the boss and advance to the next level!"

"The game is a TRAP, you fool!" Wuya instead spat. "Kandori WANTED you idiots to play it!"

"Whoa, hold up now, evil pardner." Clay rose two halting hands. "Mr. Kandori knows we're playin' Kimiko's game?"

"Yes! I heard him and his goons talking just now! There's some sort of _virus_ within the system!"

"Like a... _computer_ virus? Uh-oh..." Clay looked to Dojo. "I didn't think a that."

"Well what'll happen?" A suddenly antsy Dojo questioned. "What does the virus do?"

"I don't know!" Wuya shot back. "Just stop your mindless playing and bring those two idiots back before you ruin everything!"

A fierce, piercing roar was heard, everyone looking to the overseeing monitor to see robo-Godzilla begin to pixelate in deteriorating defeat.

"Haha! That was too easy!" Jack gloated, Beam Blaster arm in the air. "...Can I have my phone back now?"

"We have defeated the glowing C-E-O and saved the glowing city!" Omi danced around, swinging his cyber-sword left and right triumphantly. "I am a glowing hero!"

A humungous translucent screen appeared – a thousand times as large as the screen they'd spoke to Dojo and Clay with – and suddenly covered the stratified, indigo sky. An unfamiliar man's chubby, acne-ridden face covered a good portended of it.

"Dear early-access beta testers!" The chubby man greeted cheerfully, a shifty look in his eye. "Congratulations on beating the first level of this highly-acclaimed, most _anticipated_ massive multiplayer online interactive simulation." A low chuckle echoed over the virtual city. "As a reward, allow me to bestow upon you an experience like no other... a TRUE virtual world! Truly _realistic_! Truly _unbeatable_!"

"What the?" Jack looked to his arm to see his Beam Blaster pixilate and disappear, as well as his Power Jump once attached to his legs. "Hey, I still need those!"

"My power-ups!" Omi desperately tried to hold onto his beloved cyber-sword until it too pixilated into nothingness, as had his Speed Dash and Barricade Barrier. Extreme sad-face initiated.

"Welcome to 'Level Two' – Zombie Virus Edition! Bwahahahahaha!" The strange man's laughter rocked the virtual world until the screen sharply cut off, the sky returning to its glittering constellation of digital networking.

"Zombie...?" Omi questioned.

"...Virus?" Jack wondered.

The sky seemed to darken a fair degree. The outlined streetlights glowed that a brighter hue, lighting the cyan-toned streets in steady illumination. Groaning moans came from an alleyway. More from the backstreet behind them...

And before they knew it, none other than cybernetic zombies – outlined in a green neon hue – were shuffling out from the woodwork, coming to slowly inch their way closer towards Jack and Omi, both of whom had now found themselves center-stage amidst the illuminated, cyan street.

"Okay. Well. This has been fun." Jack tossed out. He began fiddling with his wristband. "Tapping out now!"

"Guys! Bad news!" Dojo's voice echoed through, a virtual screen appearing this time from Omi's wristband. "The game's got a virus! Ya gotta get outta there pronto!"

"Already trying!" Jack repeatedly, frantically hit the ESC button on his wristband, which did absolutely nothing. "It's not working! There's no menu or anything!"

Omi backed into a frantic Jack, enamored by that which was 'Level Two', the glowing green-toned zombies growing closer. "I have never seen so many zombies... Not even in Goo-Zombies 24!"

"...They seriously made 24 Goo-Zombie games?" Jack held, pausing his frantic ESC-pushing. "Man, I never even beat the 8th one." The glowing sewer drain suddenly raddled a foot from him, Jack promptly screaming and jumping an inch closer to Omi. "This blows! How're we supposed to fight off a zombie horde without our power-ups?!"

"Do not worry, normal citizen Jack Spicer." Omi took a fighting stance. "I do not need power-ups to fight zombies. I am a skilled Xiaolin monk and have my own abilities!" He jumped in the air. "Tsunami Strike: WATER!"

Omi fell back to the ground, landing on his feet about a foot from where he once stood in the same dramatic, determined pose. Nothing happened.

Jack blinked. "...Well that was underwhelming."

Omi and Jack thus proceeded to run down the eerie, cybernetic street, both screaming into the darkened digital atmosphere as virtual zombies shuffled in their wake.

**x x x**

Back in the overseer's lounge, at the huge mainframe computer Jack had been shamelessly fondling earlier, Mr. Kandori was busy taking immediate action.

"The virus has been activated." A loyal suit informed, sitting at a computer monitor with large headphones over his head. "Just as you planned, sir."

"It's time." Kandori said, inputting a code into the mainframe through accessing its foreign, mysterious software. "We have one chance to do this, and do it right. We can afford no error or delay."

The three other suits in the room all nodded. "Understood, sir!"

**x x x**

"Don't worry, guys, we'll find a way to get you outta there!" Dojo reassured a still-running Omi and Jack.

Clay flipped through the manual. "There's gotta be somethin' in here that'll tell us what t' do." He flipped all the way to the back. "At least somethin' 'bout a failsafe or emergency exit."

"This is no _airplane_, boy!" Wuya scolded beside the cowboy. "Look for something about resetting the system! I'm sure that will work!"

"Oh, sure." Dojo mocked, hands on his hips. "I'm sure resetting the system won't permanently delete user players or anything."

"As if you have any better ideas!" Wuya threw back.

A high-pitched alarm suddenly sounded, breaking everyone's attention once more, red lights blaring to light up the entire compound. It was as if the legendary doomsday device had been activated, all hope for humanity forever lost.

"I didn't do it!" Jack called through the monitor.

"_Of course_ you didn't do it," Wuya badgered amidst the blaring chaos. "You're stuck in a _video game_, having miraculously made yourself even _more_ useless than before!"

The sliding doors of the main entrance swooshed to an open, business-suited Kimiko rushing into the chamber. "Guys! We've got trouble! We..." She paused to look up to the mezzanine where the control panel lied, quickly putting two and two together of 'quirky friends plus lifetime project'. She was practically frozen in tense dread. "...What are you doing?"

"Sorry, Kimiko," Clay rubbed the back of his neck, looking down to her from their elevated position. "We kinda started playin' yer game and, uh... now Omi n' Jack're stuck in it."

Kimiko was frozen. Until she exploded.

"You WHAT?!"

The exasperated CEO was quick to rush her way up the iron stairs to the control panel through the blaring red lights and winding sirens, instantly greeted with the sight of Omi and Jack running from a zombie horde on the primary display monitor.

"We're sorry, Kimiko!" Dojo wailed, crawling up to her. "We just wanted to see your big project! We didn't mean to cause any trouble!"

But by this point, Kimiko seemed more surprised with curious astonishment than morbidly upset. "How... how did you even get the simulation to _work_?" She wondered, cerulean eyes fixated on the control panel.

"Well, it was actually pretty easy." Clay said, pointing to a particular monitor. "Th' password was already in there n' everything. We didn't do much 'cept send Omi n' Jack on through, like th' manual here says."

"Something isn't right here..." Kimiko held lowly to herself, sirens continuing to blare amongst the flashing red lights. "You shouldn't have been able to access the game at all. And the bug – the _virus_ –, it..." She suddenly returned her attention to the main monitor displaying a retreating pair of digital beta-testers, quickly running to the screen. "Omi! Jack! Can you hear me?"

"We can hear you, Kimiko!" Omi shouted back, who was kicking away a few cybernetic zombies. "You have created a very realistic Goo-Zombies game!" He dodged a stumbling zombie. "I am most impressed!"

"Save us, Kimiko!" Jack pleaded, currently stuck up a lamppost, a horde of mindless cybernetic zombies having amassed under him. "There's a zombie virus in Tokyo! I don't wanna be zombie food! I have SO much to live for!"

"I never created anything with zombies in it!" Kimiko shouted in appalled frustration. She shook her head, forcing mind back to relevance. "Arrgh – look, I think I can get you two outta there, but I'll need your help!"

She stopped, a new sensation making its presence known. The sudden dark wave hit everyone like a brick wall.

Unsettling silence and stillness seemed to spread throughout the chaos in that tense moment, the dark wave expanding to wash over everyone. The blaring sirens crackled and red emergency lights flickered, everything seeming to wind-down to a creeping, crawling halt, the familiar foreboding air consuming them.

"Oh no..." Dojo lamented, quick to reclaim his familiar perch on the cowboy hat atop Clay's head.

Feeling the tense air and seeing the emergency sirens cease as if suffocated into submission, the atmosphere now of an eerily quiet nature, Kimiko looked around with the same sort of uncertainty. "I... what's going on?"

**_"Ahahaha! My, my! Still at it, are we?_"** A familiar, dark voice echoed from nowhere in particular. _**"How delightful... It gives me all the more pleasure in destroying you!"**_

The swirling blackness seeped from the ceiling, from the floor, and from the walls, encasing the team entirely as it exerted its constricting dark presence that'd seemed to grow in power. The shadow monster – _Persaeus_ – was back.

"Darned shadow monster..." Clay bit off, Dojo tightly wrapped around his prized hat. "It followed us here too?!"

"I TOLD you to stop fooling around!" Wuya took such dutiful time to scold. "NOW look what happened!"

"I can't believe it..." Kimiko said, frozen in stunned deportment. "This feeling... that voice...!" It was the same one from three years ago. The same one that had driven her away. The same one that tormented her every night even still. The last one she'd heard before everything changed and her entire world turned upside down.

"Heeeey, what's going on out there?" Jack whined in all his unease, video display pulled up through his wristband as he continued to cling to the top of the lamppost. "We can't see anything!"

"This is most troubling..." Omi looked to the screen projected from his own wristband as he hid in an alleyway, only able to see his friends' distraught faces. "Why does the shadow monster continue to follow us no matter where we go? And _how_ does it know where we go?"

_**"You won't escape this time, Xiaolin fools! Ahahahaha!"**_

As maniacal laughter pierced everyone's ears, the black mass that'd formed on the ceiling, floor, and walls all began to seep familiar shadowy blobs, similar to the simple-bodied blobs found at the monk refugee camp.

"W-what?" Kimiko looked around, finding the most important chamber in the entire facility suddenly overrun with strange new entities. "Little shadow monsters? What in the world's going _on_?"

"Grrr. This again." Wuya grumbled to herself with their problematic situation having just gotten even more... problematic. She turned to the rest of the team. "All of you! Go and fight them!"

"I am afraid we cannot!" Omi called back from the monitor.

"Yeah, we kinda have our own problems right now!" Jack added from his pathetic position. He looked up in thought as he continued to cling to his lamppost. "Facing cyber-zombies or evil shadow monsters... Wow, that's a toughie."

Wuya only rolled her eyes. "Of course _you two_ would be useless." She grumbled, instead turning to a remaining Clay and Kimiko. "That means you two must handle – ahhhh~" The witch dramatically gasped, eyes firing translucent beams into the air.

Additionally, Dojo began to vibrate atop Clay's head. "Oh boy, great timing!" The small dragon said through pulsating tone.

"Another Shen Gong Wu?" Clay wondered, blob-like shadows continuing to form around them, their red eyes accumulating in number amidst their relatively small confinement within the enclosed mezzanine. He stepped into a fighting stance. "Reckon we don't got much time t' look fer it, whatever it is."

"It's the Komori Sword!" Wuya exclaimed, ignoring every single bit of that horrid statement, the hologram-like beams from her eyes showing that of a katana-styled artifact. "An ancient sword of darkness and despair... I must have it!"

"This is all happening so fast!" Jack complained, zombies continuing to stupidly swat up at him. "Can we _please_ slow down here!"

Kimiko looked to the monitor displaying virtual friend and enemy, to her real-world friends, and then quickly took command of the control panel. "We can't leave them in there." She declared. "I'll stay here and help Omi and Jack exit the simulator. You guys go look for the Komori Sword." She looked out to the growing mob of riled shadow monsters. "Having a Shen Gong Wu will help us fight these... things."

"But you cannot stay there alone with the shadow monsters, Kimiko!" Omi piped up from his end. A zombie or two must have heard him, Omi quick to cover his own mouth. "Oh! I best keep a quiet voice..."

"Don't worry. I'll seal myself in the room once Clay leaves." She reassured the worried monk. "I'll be fine."

Clay nodded. "Fair enough. But ya should take one of our Wu just in case."

Kimiko perked up, looking to the cowboy. "You guys brought Shen Gong Wu?" Her voice couldn't help but sound uniquely interested. "Which ones?"

"Well, we got th' Lion's Ear n' Falcon's eye... n' Golden Tiger Claws n' Indigo Pyramid... n'—"

"The Indigo Pyramid? I'll take that one."

And Jack was left with very, very strange feelings. "Out of all the Wu... she wants the Indigo Pyramid?" And as the notion sat, the stranger the feelings got. His expression scrunched in distorted perplexity. "She chose the Indigo Pyramid over the Golden Tiger Claws?!"

"It's a reflecting Shen Gong Wu." Kimiko explained, taking the blue and gold pyramid-shaped Wu kindly handed to her. "You can use it not just to reflect a person's mind – change their frame of thought – but to physically create a reflecting barrier! It's great for protection."

And Jack. Just. Jack.

"WHY DID I NOT KNOW THIS?"

"Good luck, Kimiko!" Dojo waved from atop Clay as the cowboy hastily ran out of the concealed mezzanine. "Be sure to lock up tight! We'll be back as soon as we got the Wu!"

As Clay exited the control panel and jumped over the railing to the second base floor, Dojo continuing to perch on his head and Wuya following, Kimiko quickly input a code into the control panel's database, the door and windows of the high-standing mezzanine sealing with thick steel barring, shadows instantly smashing up against them in their relentless charge, only a fraction of a second from having reached their target.

"Yeah, good luck..." Kimiko said to the departing team, who was beyond hearing her now. She instantly turned back to the task at hand, fingers gliding over the control panel, ready to get down to business. "Alright guys, listen up! Like I said, I think I know how to get you two outta there, but we've gotta work together!"

**x x x**

Numerous monitors flashed with panels of numbers, codes, and scripts within the overseer's lounge, suits hard at work on monitoring and decoding duty under none other than the head overseer himself. They'd witnessed the emerging blackness within the simulation chamber, as well as the tactics Kimiko and her friends had employed.

From Kandori's standpoint, three distinctly different events were currently taking place, and as far as his priorities were concerned, Kimiko's friends and the strange shadowy blackness that'd taken over the simulation chamber were at the bottom of that three-item list. What remained at the top of said list was, in fact, the very motivation behind this crafty exploit of his.

"They've divided into two separate groups." A dutiful suit informed from his monitoring post. "One has left the simulation chamber."

It hardly seemed relevant to the company president, focused on another matter entirely. "Witch ones?" Kandori demanded to know all the same.

"...It appears to be the larger boy alongside the two sentient anomalies."

Kandori seemed to ponder this for a small moment. "Where are they now?"

"It seems... they're headed toward the central command center, sir."

Kandori stiffened, turning to the specific monitor. "_What?_"

**x x x**

Clay had fought his way out of the simulation chamber, having used a combination of the Shroud of Shadows, Golden Tiger Claws, and his own brute fighting techniques to do so, sure to not use any Earth-based attacks, if only to not ruin any of Kimiko's expensive equipment, courtesy of Dojo's warning, who was sure to remain safely under his hat.

The cowboy now found himself running the cold, steel corridors of the facility. A shadow or two would appear or catch up to him every now and again for a lethal assault, and Clay would promptly end it with a relentless punch. His fast pace was working for the most part.

"I can't believe th' shadow monster's here too." Clay commented, punching another shadow as it was sent flying until it splattered on the cold facility wall. "Darned thing just never quits."

"Just keep moving!" Wuya commanded, guiding the way as she floated down the same corridors she'd been aimlessly exploring earlier. "The Komori Sword is close! I can _feel_ its dark presence calling me!"

"So what's th' Komori Sword do anyway?" Clay asked as he continued to run, sending yet another shadow splattering, this time upon the ceiling. "B'sides be all dark n' despairin'."

"Well, it's pretty much a shadow Shen Gong Wu." Dojo was the one to explain, poking out from under Clay's hat to enjoy the view. "You can use it to bend one's shadows to your will and... huh, I'm just now starting to see a serious connection here..."

"Ya can control shadows with it?" Clay's pale eyes widened. "Then that means..."

"STOP!"

Clay skidded to a halt just before yet another corridor crossroads, Dojo close to flying off due to lack of seat belt. The cowboy readjusted his hat and looked to the halted apparition. "What in tarnation is it, Wuya?"

"Really! At least give us some warning next time!" Dojo complained through a rattling head. "Sheesh!"

"Shh!" The witch hissed. "Kandori's goons are around this corner!"

Clay's back came to the wall, him carefully peaking around the corner, seeing three suits talking amongst each other. He couldn't make out what they were saying. Luckily he had just the remedy for that.

"Lion's Ear!" Clay whispered, placing the ear-like Shen Gong Wu to his own ear as Dojo listened in above him.

_"-and to locate Miss Tohomiko's acquaintances."_ Was one suit's caught sentence.

_"They were last seen headed toward this sector."_ Another declared. _"We must find them."_

_"We're to apprehend them on sight."_ Yet another added. _"We're permitted to use force if necessary."_

"Doesn't sound like they're on our side, champ." Dojo mused.

"Sounds like they're lookin' fer us." Clay said, looking up to find a facility monitoring camera moving left and right, zooming in and out.

"Don't let them see you!" Wuya ordered.

"We gotta get th' Komori Sword..." Clay said, retracting the eavesdropping Shen Gong Wu. "It could be th' only way t' stop these shadow monsters fer good." He pulled out a certain blanket Wu next. "Shroud of Shadows!"

Newly vanished, Clay resumed quick pace down the corridor, sure to follow the transparent floating entity otherwise known as an evil Heylin witch... otherwise known as his guide.

**x x x**

"Soooo, it's pretty much like the last level. We look for hints that lead to a key that'll get us to the next level... only the next level's the exit outta this game?"

"The concept's the same," Kimiko answered an ever-unknowing Jack, still at the enclosed control panel. "But the entire level's infected by someone else's programming – the bug, which I'm now convinced is a full-blown virus. Basically, I have a key too here on my end, and if we activate both my real-world key and the virtual key you find in-game, that should allow me an opening to temporarily re-stabilize the system platform and rematerialize you guys back in the real world."

Omi scratched his head, now having taken refuge in a neon-incrusted diner, looking out the huge diner window. "That... sounds most complicated."

"It's easy!" Kimiko happily insisted with a bright smile. "All you guys have to do is what you did in the first level. Just... with a lot of zombies trying to eat your faces off. It's no big deal really!" She paused for a small moment in recollection. "Oh, but if you die in there, you'll die in real life. I haven't really perfected the whole 'separate mind and body' thing yet..."

"Oh, I SO called that." A proud, distanced smile washed over Jack. "I'm on a _role_ today."

"Sorry, guys. I'll try to help you locate the in-game key from my administrative position, but there's really not a whole lot I can do until you find it."

"It is alright, Kimiko." Omi said, now making his way up a ladder on the backside of the diner. "It is our fault for playing your video game against Mr. Kandori's sage advice. Even though it is mostly entirely Jack's fault."

"Yeah, about that." Jack added without falter. "I guess this would also be a good time to tell you that Kandori guy's totally double-crossing you. Your game got _Jack'd_." He stiffened as the lingering zombies continued to reach up for him. "That guy really gives me the creeps, by the way. Is he like, a robot or cyborg or something? You know, something without _feelings_?"

But Kimiko's ever-working mind seemed to have already progressed down that frame of thought, having dismissed Jack's incessant rambling to question her own personal standing, as well as that of her most loyal and trusted of business consorts. "I don't understand..." She held lowly to herself, looking off to the side. "Why would he do this?"

As Kimiko had said, Jack and Omi were pretty much on their own. Apparently they were no better than ordinary humans in the simulation, no more than holograms really – digital replications of any other ordinary human that'd be playing a virtual-reality video game. Well, Omi was reduced to ordinary anyway, minus his Xiaolin monk abilities and trained physique, as he'd found earlier, Jack already pretty 'standard citizen'. That being so, it became clear that they'd have to play it smart and work together if they were to ever exit the game in one piece.

"Jack!" Omi called down to the red-outlined genius as he stood upon the roof of the diner, still outlined in his own golden hue. "We must do what Kimiko says and find the key!"

"You do it!" Jack called back, still clinging to the lamppost above a riled group of zombies. "I'm staying right here!"

Omi looked around his cybernetic, thriller-worthy environment, spotting a big steeple-looking object on top of the diner's roof. He looked back to Jack. "I will make a distraction!" He called down again. "When the zombies are gone, you will be free to jump down! We can then work together to find the key!"

"I dunno, I still think you doing everything sounds a lot better..."

But Omi was already pushing on the big steeple, it finally breaking off at the base, pixilated residue disintegrating from its breaking point. He dragged it over the edge, towards an alleyway, and pushed it off. The big steeple fell to the ground with a crash, completely pixilating in disintegration.

The group of cyber-zombies harassing Jack suddenly turned towards the new crashing sound, and promptly began shuffling down the street towards the alleyway.

Most of the creepy, glowing zombies disappearing within the noisy alleyway, Jack finally dropped down from his pathetic position, landing in the street. "Hey, I just realized; _computer_ virus... _zombie_ virus... that's actually pretty classy. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Good job, guys." Kimiko said from the control panel as she looked over a hijacked coded script. "Now head east. I'm reading that the key should be somewhere in the Edogawa district."

**x x x**

Having fought their way through a ton of shadow monsters and snuck their way past countless searching facility watchmen, Clay had finally reached a chamber Wuya was certain the Shen Gong Wu was emitting its tingling energy signature from.

The chamber was of a cold, steely nature similar to the rest of the seemingly endless facility. It was quite large, the ceiling stretching far above them, and constructed with a dome-shape, multiple levels creating a sort of tiered floor layout. High-tech computers and terminals sat around the tiered, circular design, a larger-than-life display monitor at the head of the chamber. It was another control room of some sort, and seemed like it more belonged in that of a super-spiffy military base than an electronic software company's development facility.

"Look, there it is!" Dojo pointed ahead, coming out from under Clay's cowboy hat.

Clay followed Dojo's gesture to the wall opposite their current location, about halfway into the cylindrical chamber. There a single long katana sat positioned on the wall in decorative flair, seeming far removed from the technologically-savvy atmosphere of the rest of the area.

"Th' Komori Sword!" Clay exclaimed. "That's gotta be it!"

"Ahh~ finally!" Wuya rubbed her ghostly hands together. "Go retrieve it!"

Just as Clay was about to make quick pace towards the new Shen Gong Wu, the doors on the other side of the chamber slid open with a swift whoosh. Kandori now stood there, a handful of armed suits in his wake.

"My apologies," The formal company president curtly greeted, stepping into the chamber, a rather frigid air about him that seemed far from 'apologetic'. "But this sector is off limits."

"Ah! The traitor emerges." Wuya mused with all her enthralled interest. "I must say, I'm quite impressed with your utterly _evil_ shrewdness, Kandori. Bravo!"

Kandori only raised a brow. "What are you talking about?"

"Cut the act, stiff!" Dojo was then the one to accuse. "We know what you're up to!"

Kandori seemed entirely unmoved, only standing in stiff, analytical silence before them.

"...Were you th' one who infected Kimiko's game with a virus?" Clay wondered, low in tone.

Kandori didn't answer – remaining still, silent – eyes hidden behind sharp, reflective glasses.

"...That's low." Clay concluded for himself.

"How could you betray Kimiko like that?" Dojo continued to bluster. "She really trusted you!"

Kandori only scoffed. He adjusted his glasses. "I knew you'd be trouble from the start." Was all he said. "Though you were surprisingly helpful in... other aspects... that is as far as your usefulness goes, I'm afraid. I've simply no time to deal with you." He raised a hand, fingers giving a crisp snap. "Apprehend them."

The handful of suits came at them as if an army of emotionless robots.

"Now wait just a minute!" Clay tried to reason. "There're shadow monsters on th' loose 'round here! They're real dangerous!" He pointed to the Komori Sword. "N' that there's what's called a Shen Gong Wu! We need it t' fight off th' shadow monsters!"

A rather confounded look came across a usually stone-cold expression. "Children these days..." Kandori sighed, Clay backing up to an oncoming wave of obedient suits. "Such wild imaginations they possess."

Just as Clay was backing up towards the door he'd just emerged from, said door slid to an open, and on the other side of it lied nothing but seeping blackness.

Kandori faltered for perhaps the first time in a very, very long time. "...Ah?"

The loyal suits also seemed taken aback, stopping their assault on Clay, though quick to aim their armed weapons towards the sudden blackness that emerged through the doorway and morphed through the walls.

"Just grab the Komori Sword!" Wuya commanded her new, supposed puppet. "Quickly!"

Spotting an opening with Kandori's rare and abnormal surprise, Clay made a mad dash for the ancient katana as Kandori's goons opened fire on the seeping blackness that began transmuting into small shadow monsters.

Gunfire echoed throughout the chamber, bullets ripping through the bodiless shadow monsters and carving into the back wall. Shadow monsters lunged at their assailants with malicious glee. It was sheer chaos, suits and shadows in an informal brawl.

Finally reaching the distant wall, Clay grabbed the Komori Sword, quickly retracting it from the wall and turning... only to see Kandori having grabbed it himself, two different hands now upon the ancient artifact. Clay's eyes widened with sudden realization, surprised by both Kandori's speed and ability to ignore the shadow monsters, and as anticipated, the Komori Sword began to illuminate a steady glow between the two men.

"A Showdown...!" Clay gasped.

As such a glow grew with the building tension, the assaulting shadows instantly receded a good ways, now pressed against the cylindrical walls of the chamber as far from the glowing light as possible, sharply shrieking in utter discomfort as the suits took a moment to catch their breath.

Dojo had long abandoned his perch upon Clay's head, now taking a small moment to observe the strangely receding shadows now backed against the wall, all seemingly repelled by the likes of an oncoming Xiaolin Showdown. "Huh..." He held to himself. "Haven't seen _that_ one before."

**x x x**

"You're close, guys!" Kimiko called out to Omi and Jack from the control panel. "Just keep—" She broke her gaze to the eastern wall of her safely sealed-off monitoring space, then the western wall, and quickly realized that both had become quite a few shades darker than they'd once been. "Oh-no... not now!"

Darkness began to merge through the walls, seeping a swirling blackness that'd no sooner segregated into individual blobs. It seemed the shadow monsters had found a way to penetrate her incredibly thick steel blockades. They wasted no time lunging at the executive businesswoman.

Kimiko quickly dodged the mass assault, jumping back a good ways from the control panel. "Indigo Pyramid!" She called out, holding up the summoned Shen Gong Wu. A transparent pyramid-shaped shield emerged around her, multiple shadows bulking up against it, again unable to fully reach their target. She looked back to the monitor with clear concern.

The shadows all followed her gaze, seeming to have taken interest in the large computer monitor, finding the images of both Jack and Omi within it. Half of the shadows within the enclosed space then promptly lunged at the control panel.

"What? No!" Kimiko shouted, hands pressed against the transparent pyramid barrier.

But the shadows knew, and as they lunged towards the control panel, their blob-like bodies merged into and within it until coating the entire panel in a dark boarder, having assumed what appeared complete control over it.

"RAAAH!"

The remaining shadows in the room came to find themselves being brutally kicked aside and sent splattering on the wall, Kimiko now outside of her protective barrier and ready to deal with this ridiculousness as a _real_ warrior, her short, fiery fuse finally having come to its end. She took a fighting stance, a rather terrifying look loudly hinting at her newly infuriated disposition.

"You shadow jerks are SO DEAD!"

**x x x**

"Kimiko? Kimiko, are you there?" Omi called out to an unresponsive administrator. "We have found the key!"

Both Omi and Jack had found refuge behind the corner of a storage unit amidst some sort of sci-fi warehouse district. Countless storage units were all perfectly aligned, some stacked on top of one another, all outlined with that familiar cyan glow. It was almost like some sort of storage unit labyrinth. There was no telling what lied inside of the units... but considering the fact that green-glowing cyber-zombies continued to shuffle around them, even amidst the warehouse district, they figured there wouldn't be much time to find out.

The key they'd finally spotted was another huge card-shaped key-card, positioned on top of the highest stack of storage units in the district, rotating in all of its transparent, bar-coded glory.

Omi turned to Jack with a worried look. "Kimiko is not answering..."

"Forget Kimiko, I'm sure she's fine." Jack threw back, instead fixated on the rotating key-card atop the highly-stacked storage unit pile. "How're _we_ supposed to get to the _key _with all these zombies around?"

Omi looked down in pondering thought. After a moment he looked back up to Jack. "I have another idea! You may create a distraction and I shall retrieve the key!"

"Oh. Oh no. _No way_." Jack rebelled, hands up in utter rejection. "Switch. YOU make the distraction and I'LL go for the key."

"But I have already made a distraction once!" Omi argued. "It is not that hard, cowardly normal citizen Jack, as all you have to do is make a loud noise and the zombies will go that direction."

Jack just stared down at the rambling monk with pursed lips. "Are you _trying_ to offend me? 'Cause it's working."

Omi seemed to take a moment to contemplate their situation again. "Master Monk Guan had frequently advised that I perhaps heed other's instruction instead of just my own..." He looked back to Jack once more. "I suppose we could _both_ make effort to retrieve the key. If we attempt to do so from two different directions, the zombies will likely pick only _one_ of us to chase."

Jack pondered this himself, slowly starting to see better odds for his own personal survival. Especially considering Omi was no better than an ordinary human in the virtual world, giving him an equal shot at this, if not a slight upper-hand. "Alright, chrome-dome, you're on." He finally agreed with renewed confidence.

Omi nodded with his own confident smile. "Good! Then we— Huh?"

And from the red and purple virtual sky fell rain. Black, inky rain.

"Uggghh, ewwww!" Jack immediately whined, pressing himself as much as he could against the storage unit, rain showering the entire warehouse district. "What _is_ this stuff?! Since when is rain _black_?!"

"I do not think it is rain!" Omi said, now pointing to lingering zombies between stacks of storage units. "Look!"

As the blackened rain fell upon the area, the zombies began to twitch and spasm beyond their normal undead capacity. Their green-outlined forms were filled in with a seeping blackness very familiar to both Omi and Jack, their dulled eyes now replaced by a glowing red color that oozed the darkest of evil.

"They are... shadow monsters!" Omi exclaimed. "And they merged with the cyber-zombies!"

"Shadow-monster-cyber-zombie..." Jack took a moment to ruminate. "That'd make a wicked sweet band name. I should totally write that down..."

The cyber-zombies were no longer that of a completely dumb nature. Now having been possessed by the evil shadow monsters that had entered the computer program, the oozing black red-eyed cyber-zombies all turned their attention to the two virtual gamers who'd once been successfully hidden, beginning their slow shuffle their way.

Jack was quick to back away. "I-I don't wanna die!" He threw out, bargaining reflex at work. "If you let me live, I'll never touch another video game again, I swear!"

He felt something grab his back, let out a scream, and no sooner found himself pulled around the corner of the storage unit, now faced with Omi, who hadn't wasted time picking out band names and had instead made effort to hide.

"Hey, no grabbing!" Jack complained, straightening out his red-outlined jacket collar. "You'll mess up my cool cyber-clothes."

"The zombies are now shadow monsters..." Omi said, round head peering around the corner of the storage unit. "But they are still slow as if they were zombies." He retraced his head, turning to look to Jack. "This is good, because we still must retrieve the key! It is the only way to escape them!"

Goal in mind, Omi quickly began climbing the stacked storage units towards such a cause, leaving Jack to watch on in wonder. He contemplated just hiding there and letting Omi do all the work – why risk his own life when someone else would do it for him, after all – but the sound of eerie black zombies shuffling around the corner was quick to send a good chill up his spine, motivating his sudden movement to hastily climb a different storage unit.

Shadow zombies lingered everywhere now, no longer restricted by their brain-dead zombie state. High on top of units, low below units, outside of units, inside of units... They climbed and scaled the storage units just as Jack and Omi were, giving slow but steady chase to both, capable of overpowering anyone and anything with sheer number alone.

Omi ducked under a grabbing shadow zombie, kicked one off the storage unit he was currently on, and continued to run, jumping to another unit to begin climbing again. Jack alternatively took complete advantage of Omi making a huge scene and causing such an open display of ruckus, sneaking by pockets of open opportunity Omi would naturally create.

And it was working for the most part, both Jack and Omi growing closer and closer to the key through their individual ways of dealing with their untimely situation. At this rate, they'd have the key in no time!

**x x x**

Countless shadow monsters continued to wince, pressed up against the cylindrical walls of the central command center, so hard and tight it almost seemed as if the collective blackness was one entity possessing multiple red, furious eyes. Having caught their breath, suited men stood playing audience to the strange phenomenon now taking place in the middle of the large chamber, weary of the ever-looming darkness surrounding and thus trapping them within said chamber.

Both Kandori and Clay stood in a form of gentlemanly tug-of war, each tightly grasping the brightly glowing Shen Gong Wu on its respective ends as it was held in steady place. Clay gave a silent grimace. Kandori remained composed.

"You seem interested in this sword." Kandori observed, consumed by the moment, focused on the task, and completely unwilling to let the now glowing artifact part from his firm grasp.

"I already told ya." Clay replied. "We need it."

"Indeed. You said before that it was special. Could help you fight 'shadows'." Kandori steadily continued. "It _is_ in fact special. It's a family heirloom of mine, passed down from more generations than you could possibly hope to comprehend. An indispensable good luck charm, if you will. I won't simply let you take it."

And that could only mean one thing...

But one other thing still bothered Clay, and had for quite some time now. "That story ya told us earlier... Th' one 'bout an heir needin' t' be chosen fer th' company." He held in all sturdiness. "It was 'bout you... wasn't it?"

Kandori was silent, a small scowl forming, though ultimately unmoving in position as unwavering eyes continued to hide behind sharp illuminated glasses, locked onto Clay's own. He was a hard man to read, and Clay had no time for it. His friends were in danger and needed him.

"I challenge ya to a Xiaolin Showdown, ya dirty snake." Clay said, pulling ever-so-slightly on the ancient artifact between them.

"Hm. A sort of competition, I assume?" Kandori mused, somewhat interested. "Explain."

"A Showdown for the Komori Sword!" Wuya suddenly appeared between them, as if having waited for this very moment for longer than what was considered healthy. "You shall name a competitive game, both wager Shen Gong Wu, and compete with one another in the named game until a victor emerges, taking _all _the Shen Gong Wu!"

"It's pretty much like gambling, winner takes all." Dojo threw out from his position. "A real healthy pastime, if you ask me."

"Very well." Kandori agreed. "I accept your challenge. The game will be a Cyber-Race, based on an unreleased virtual game still under company development." A very small slit of a smile came upon the man. "You'll have the honor of being the first outside user to test-play it."

"A... Cyber-Race?" Clay wondered. He hadn't much room to oppose. "Alrighty then, yer on, Mr. Kandori." He lifted up a horned Shen Gong Wu. "I wager th' Bullhorn Blazer."

"And I wager my family sword, seeing as how it is mine to begin with."

"Uhh..." Clay faltered. He looked to Dojo. "Can a Showdown work like that, Dojo?"

Dojo was already hard at work flipping through the humongous Xiaolin Showdown Rule Book he could miraculously pull out of nowhere when needed, reading glasses helping him examine fine print, Wuya sure to hover over the huge book with her own curious examination.

"Hmmm. Says here... that no one can really _own_ a Shen Gong Wu," Dojo read off. "But if one Showdown contender doesn't have a Wu to wager, they can still participate." He looked back up to the two. "So yeah, a Showdown's still valid here."

Clay nodded, looking back to the evidently corrupt company president. "Then let's go – _Xiaolin Showdown!_"

**x x x**

Still having gotten no word from a currently preoccupied Kimiko, Omi and Jack continued to press on in all their bizarre, miserable, exciting aloneness.

Omi pushed a shadow zombie into another shadow zombie as both fell from the storage unit they were on and crashed to the ground far below, disintegrating into blackened pixels. Most of the shadow zombies were going after him, but he was holding his own for the most part. He turned to look ahead, only a few units from the key.

"I have almost reached the key!" He called to Jack across the way, who was busy kicking away a few shadow zombies in mid-climb.

"Just get on with it, cueball!" Jack frantically shouted back. He kicked at the two shadow zombies some more, one having grabbed his leg. "These things are seriously starting to freak me out! Are they gonna like, _eat_ _our brains_?"

Omi looked back to the big rotating key-card, knowing it was the only thing that could help them at this point. He quickly resumed his noble task, running towards it, but was promptly thrown off when the ground began to rumble.

"Waah!" The yellow-outlined monk cried, wobbling around in trying to catch his balance. "Why is the ground moving?!"

Jack had fallen back to the previous unit he'd been on due to the rumbling as the shadow zombies continued to pull on him. But instead of devouring him on the spot, the shadow zombies began to merge into themselves in a gooey blackness during the continual rumbling, and left his now cowering self for some other cause, much to Jack's bewildering surprise.

The blob-reduced shadow zombies that'd abandoned Jack, along with other shadow zombies in the area, began to swirl and concentrate on one area, and in only a few bleak moments darkness amassed before a still-wobbling Omi, seeming to be the source of the rumbling, secretly fueled by the likes of an oncoming mystical battle elsewhere in realm and time. The darkness grew and expanded, continuing to absorb more shadow zombies, now towering before the small Xiaolin monk and blocking his straight and narrow path to the key.

Three long protrusions emerged from the darkness' left side, and three more came to form on its right, giving it what appeared to be six arms. A final, rigid v-shaped protrusion emerged from its upper center, giving it the striking resemblance of horned wakidate on a kabuto helmet, and just below such, two searing red eyes opened to reveal a new evil entity altogether.

_**"This one is the Samurai..."**_ The huge, dark entity greeted amidst a gaping Omi and Jack. _**"Bringer of Shame and Ruin!"**_

* * *

Darude – Sandstorm  
LOL DON'T HIT ME

That's right. Kimiko's big project is Tron + Goo Zombies.  
These sections are only going to get more and more horrible, you know.  
You're so welcome.


End file.
